Taking on the Jellies

Today was really awesome…Great Barrier Reef day!! We headed out this morning at about 7:30a and went down to the marina to catch the boat. Its about a 2ish hour boat ride out to the reef. Once there, our guides then showed us how to snorkel properly and also a quick lesson on scuba diving. Off we went, 80 Americans out to enjoy the pristine beauty that Australia has to offer. I snorkeled and scuba dived. It was crazy awesome! I saw lots of fish, Nemo, different types of coral, sea cucumbers, starfish, and even a shark. Now, now, it wasn’t a dangerous one at all...no worries! Oh yeah, of course, there were lots of jellyfish. I got stung twice, but they felt like little pin pricks that stung for about 5 minutes then went away. Quite the experience.
Later that afternoon, we went to a different location next to a bird sanctuary island. They said that up to 50,000 birds can be on the island at once. Even though the chances of getting pooped on were exponentially high, I managed to luck out and escaped just as clean as I went in as…
This was absolutely beautiful. It looked like something straight out of a magazine. Sandy white beach, crystal clear water and the reef...what more could you ask for!? (Especially in February) After snorkeling a bit more, it was off to sunbath on the boat for a couple hours while we headed back. I have the burn lines to show it…
I’m still trying to get used to Australian humor. They all seem to joke sarcastically with a completely straight face. Its quite hard to catch, at least for me.
Tomorrow I leave for Uni. I’m pretty excited to live in my own space and not out of a suitcase in a cramped room with 5 other girls. It is a beautiful place here up in Cairns; I am sad to go. But it’s hot all the time and I think it will be great to get into the city and finally meet some Aussies for real.


p.s. I just realized that it is free for all incoming calls to my new phone. So therefore, if you would like to talk to me, please feel free to call me anytime! (well, not anytime, be aware that I am 13 hours ahead!) My number is 0451609969. I believe Australia’s country code is 67 and you may have to drop the 0 in my number. So I think its 67451609969. yeah, call me!