So I've been a bit behind on my posts since 1. I have been non stop for the past two weeks and 2. Had a hate love relationship with the wifi at the hotel. Anywho so the flight was a wee bit exhausting. Tuesday the 27th I flew out of DFW to LAX. In LA I met up with about 30 other people who are also studying at Bond Uni. From LAX we flew to Brisbane then got a connecting flight to Cairns, Australia (pronounced cans). To sum that up for you it was pretty much 24 hours of flying and not having been in an actual bed in 48 hours. At the airport we met our group leaders Ross and Kym who work with Globalinks. We took a bus to a hostel called Gilligans where we stayed for four nights. This stay was called our "Bridging Cultures Program" where we get introduced to the Australian culture. one thing I learned is that Australians are super sweet and nice..and no I'm not saying that just because they didn't charge me for losing three room keys in five days at Gilligans ;)
Day one of BCP:
The first full day was labeled as the rainforestation day where we were able to pet/feed kangaroos, make an aboriginal canvas painting, hold a snake, throw a boomerang, learn the aboriginese dance, ride through the forest/pond, and hold a koala bear. This day was mainly to introduce us to the way the natives (aboriginal or indigenous people) lived their life.
Day two of BCP:
Our day started at 630 AM with breakfast. Today was dedicated to exploring the Great Barrier Reef where we were able to snorkel or scuba dive. I chose to snorkel since it was free (college living for ya). Anywho the scenery and the reef were BREATHTAKING. When swimming in the shallow end (maybe 6ft) the reef would be inches away from you. There were times when I had swim in an awkward way to make sure I didn't touch the reef. The sun is definitely a lot stronger here than it is back in Texas so I am probably going to be coming back to the states ULTRA tan.
Day three of BCP:
This day we had the choice of having a free day to walk about Cairns, skydive, bungee jump, four wheeling through the jungle, or horse back riding. Take a wild guess of what my redneck self chose..yuuup four wheeling :) this was definitely and interesting experience with four out of the six 4 wheelers breaking down and/or stalling out. At one point our tour guides quad went out and he left us in the forest for about 15 minutes to get another four wheeler. All in all though it was a blast.
The next morning or should I say a few hours later at 330 AM we were up and moving and headed to the airport. The thought of getting on a plane at this point was a mood killer considering the fact that we had been on gosh knows how many planes in five days. Needless to say when we landed back in Brisbane everyone was pumped to finally be closer to moving into Bond AND not having to step foot on a plane again for a good amount of time!!
Attached are some photos throughout the BCP
Enjoy :)
