So my weekend in paradise is over and now I am waiting in the Nadi (pronounced Nan-dee) airport for my eleven hour flight to Los Angeles. I remember back in February (which seems like a lifetime ago) being absolutely terrified of the flight I had to take to Australia. Now, after having already experienced that flight and also an overnight bus from Sydney to Gold Coast it is not the flight I am anxious about. Now I have learned that the worst part about flying is not the actual flight, it is the layovers, customs and security check points. I have already had a decent amount of things taken away from me, and I am a bit nervous that the sand and seashells I took home for mom will get taken away at customs. I hope not, but if they do there isn’t much I can do about it and at least I tried right?
On Thursday I was completely emotional and felt unready to go back to the states and this past weekend (in paradise) has helped me calm down a lot and I am getting more excited to head back to the states. I had a lot of time to relax this weekend and I think I needed that before I had to head back into my life back home. This weekend allowed me to get rid of my emotions from leaving Aussie, and also allowed me to get new exciting emotions to prepare me to go back home. I think if I had just went straight back home from Aussie my emotions would have been everywhere and I am unsure how I would have handled that. I am DEFINITLY looking forward to being home seeing my family and friends and getting back into “reality.” I have had a wonderful time since February and Australia will always have a special place in my heart, however it is time for leave my fantasy lifestyle and go into my everyday routine of things. For everyone who feared that I would not be coming home, no worries I am. If you would have asked me that on Thursday I am not to sure I would have been able to answer that will a 100% yes. Haha!
So now to talk about my weekend in Fiji! I already updated you on how my first night was and so I now I will cover my time in Fiji from Friday until today (Monday).
On Friday I had to wake up really early due to mistake of booking a room at a resort two hours away from where I was boarding the boat to go to my next resort. The drive was nice to see in the daytime and it allowed me to see parts of Fiji that were not centered around tourists. The houses were extremely small and most of them were very worn down. I wish I would have been able to take pictures but at the time my camera was in the trunk and I could not access it. On top of the worn down houses (and schools that were built for them by the United States of America) you could see how the people were struggling when you passed a bus stop made out of bamboo sticks. Also, in a field at both ends the field goals had been set up using bamboo sticks as well. I am happy I got to experience this drive as the rest of my weekend was at a resort which had definitely been made nice to attract tourists. I now understand why traveling can change a persons perspective on life. You get to experience things from people who are less fortunate, to those who are extremely fortunate. I have a learned a lot just by traveling that is for sure.
After my drive back to Nadi I hopped on the boat ride to go to Octopus Resort. The boat ride was an hour and a half and to make the time go by faster I started to talking to other people around me (the boat only fits about 10-12 people). The first couple I talked to was an older couple and within the first few minutes I found out that they were from Arizona!!! Now this was really exciting because in the months I have been gone, I have not met one single person who is from Arizona! It was nice to talk to them about my time away and also catch up with how the weather has been acting up back home.
After talking to them for a while I then start talking to another girl named Ashley who is traveling by herself. She had been traveling with a friend throughout Australia but they each went separate ways a few days prior. She was only nineteen years old and was an English student traveling between her gap year. She was extremely nice and we would continue to hang out throughout the weekend.
After yapping away we finally arrive at Waya Island. The first thing I notice is how blue the water is and how many trees there are on the island. We are then welcomed by some of the staff at the resort with a traditional welcome song. As soon as I step off of the boat Sam calls out my name and I notice that she is snorkeling. It made it extremely easy to find her when I got there. I then sat through a welcoming and got assigned a bed number for the dorm.
After walking to my room and saying “Vanaka” (which means thank you) to the worker who carried my bags to the room, I then headed down to the beach to meet Sam. We hung out at the beach and then went in to eat lunch since it was happening almost immediately after I arrived. The area we ate was really cool and the floor was filled with sand so you could feel the sand between your toes even while you ate.
That night we went down to watch the sunset (which was gorgeous) and had drinks out of coconuts! I am not sure how much alcohol they put into it shot wise, but when I counted it was nine seconds worth of pouring different alcohol into my coconut! However the coconuts were huge and so the rest of it was filled up with some sort of juice and you could not really taste the alcohol all that much.
When I went to bed I realized that we each had a personal mosquito net, fan and light by our bed. I liked this because it made it so that I could chose to have the fan on or not (and of course knowing me I had it on the entire night).
The next morning I woke up and enjoyed the breakfast the had put out for us. The weather was not the greatest and it started to rain and so I started to read On the Jellicoe Road a book I had picked up for a friend in Australia. I ended up reading the entire book in two days because I had so much down time. After the rain it cleared up and we were left with a gorgeous day. I hung out by the beach and read for the majority of the day.
At night after dinner they resort had game night and me being very competitive was one of the first to join in on the fun. The first game was a harmless (but somewhat painful) game of Limbo. I did not win but I did make it a decent way into the game. After Limbo we played a drinking game with the same groups. Each person had to run to a cup of beer that was about thirty steps away, drink it as fast as possible, place the cup upside down on their head to prove the cup was empty, spin around the cup two times and then run back to their team. I am very competitive; however drinking beer is not something I am very good at. I attempted to drink the cup of beer as fast as possible and ended up with half a cup of beer down my shirt… the only good thing about that was the when I turned the cup upside down to place on my head there was none to get into my hair. My team loss this game, but just barely.
Really wanting to at least one game, I signed up for the next game as well not knowing what it was. Little did I know that for the next couple of minutes everyone in my group would basically lose any pride and dignity they had, while playing a game called “Poop the Potato”. Each person had to hold a potatoe between their legs run to a bucket without dropping it, and then “poop” the potato into the bucket. If you missed the bucket, or dropped the potato you had to go back and try again. Once again, my team just barely lost. This makes it three games in a row I lost…which I am very sad about. Sad in the Chelsea “I wanna win” type of sad.
The last game (if you can call it a game) is catch the cork. Basically the person who caught the cork off the champagne got the bottle of champagne. Well...make it four losses for me! The same group won all four games and ended up with four bottles of champagne while we each had beer down our shirts and had just pooped a potato. All well, it was fun even if I didn’t win. Plus, I am not a fan of champagne so I didn’t mind giving it to someone who was.
The next day was the last full day in Fiji. After breakfast we went snorkeling. The water was so blue and the clarity was absolutely perfect. I saw so many different type of fish and at one point I was right next to a school of about thirty bright yellow fish swimming around me. I wish I would have had a underwater camera because the fish were so bright and the water was so blue. I also saw a fish without a tail and every time it tried to swim the water would push the back part of its body and it kept having to swim sideways. I also saw a transparent fish swimming around as well. There were so many unique fish and it is really awesome to be able to swim around with them.
For the rest of the day we just hung around and at night there was a movie playing out by the pool. They set up a giant screen for us all to watch Revolutionary Road, which I had seen about a week earlier. Since it was still early I watched the movie, however for a majority of the time I was just looking up at the stars and the milky way.
The next morning we had to wake up and get all of our stuff together to pack and leave our wonderful Waya Island and to head back to Nandi. We hung out until two just walking down the beach and then had an hour and a half boat ride back to the mainland.
When we got to Nandi we got dropped off at Raffles hotel to hang out for a few hours (it was four, our flight leaves at ten) and all we really did was hang out, take a shower, and change into our clothes we would be wearing on the flight home.
It is now about thirty minutes before I am going to get on my flight home and I am getting pretty excited to go back to the states. This was a perfect end, to an AMAZING semester! One I will never forget that is for sure…and that scary part? I am officially a SENIOR in college!!
Well I am going to turn off my laptop, make a lap around the airport before I have to start my 11 hour sitting session! My next entrée, I will be back in the States!
Love you all!
XoXo,
Chels
Monday, June 29, 2009
HOME!
Well…it wasn’t easy but I survived the flight and now I am home! My knees are absolutely killing me and I have never wanted to stand so much in my life! I am in LAX right now waiting for my next flight to phoenix…however an hour flight seems like nothing to me now! “Long Trips” have a completely different meaning to me then what they did six months ago!
I just wanted to let everyone know that there are three entrees before this one talking about leaving Aussie and visiting Fiji. The last of my pictures are uploading to Picasa currently!
Love you all & I’m glad to be home! I am considering continuing to write in my blog to keep everyone updated on what I am up to during the school year. However, the address may be changed considering, I am no longer abroad!
Chels
I just wanted to let everyone know that there are three entrees before this one talking about leaving Aussie and visiting Fiji. The last of my pictures are uploading to Picasa currently!
Love you all & I’m glad to be home! I am considering continuing to write in my blog to keep everyone updated on what I am up to during the school year. However, the address may be changed considering, I am no longer abroad!
Chels
Thursday, June 25, 2009
First night in Fiji!
First night in Fiji!
BULLA!!!!!! I am in Fiji! Bulla means “hello” here and they say it sooo much! Everyone you pass says hello to you, it has a very friendly atmosphere. Also, when you arrive at the airport there is a live band playing tropical music and they put a necklace made of sea shells around your neck and introduce you to the term “Bulla” I can’t say it is gorgeous yet because I have spent the last five hours in the airport waiting to get to my resort so I haven’t really seen anything. It took me so long to get to my resort because I did not book a transfer ahead of time because every other trip I have been on I have been able to book a transfer to where I am staying really easily. Well turns out I got a hotel that is 110 KM away from the airport. I read it as 10 on accident when I paid for my room a couple weeks ago. To get a cab here would have been $200 which I was not about to pay. After finding that out a very nice worker told me he found a coach for me that would be going to the place I am staying for only $35. He said I missed the 5:55 barely and would have to wait for the 6:55 coach. I say ok and then go sit down and finish a couple Sodoku puzzles. Then at 7:00 he comes back and tells me the coach is back and I can put my luggage in the trailer. I was thinking we were leaving at 6:55; nope that is when he got back from his other trip. So I had to wait until everyone got off of their flight and got onto the coach, we left at 7:40.
It then took an hour and a half to get to the first resort where he was dropping everyone off and another hour on top of that to get to my place. Ouewrgoiuhgoerihgirhgerhigdr. I booked a nice hotel tonight because I wanted to not be by myself in a creepy area and I was really excited about spending my time in a hotel for once. Since starting again tomorrow I start up the sharing a room thing. Getting here at 10:35 PM (and having to leave at 7:30 AM tomorrow...) really makes it pointless to have even stayed here.
However, it is a really nice place!!! I have a HUUUGGE bed and a big bathroom all to myself as well. There are also pink flowers on my towels, and the towels are arranged really pretty. Get this, upon check in I got complementary water…and it was Fiji Water! I am drinking Fiji water, in Fiji! I love it!
Then in the fridge you get a huge complimentary platter of fresh fruits for you to eat. This is good, because I haven’t eaten today at all and I do not think there is a place for me to go eat dinner at tonight. I am literally twenty feet from the ocean (I can hear it in my room) however it is dark out, and so going near the beach kind of freaks me out lol. The stars are absolutely amazing though. I attempted to take a picture of them so you could see, however all that came out was a completely black picture!
I want to go look around and see what is around but I am a woos and am scared to walk alone since I am walking outside and it is kind of dark. There is a lighted path to the rooms, but still…I am just holding myself hostage in my room for the night. There isn’t anything to do in my room, I do not have a TV and do not have internet access.
I suppose that is good anyways since I have to be up at 6:45 in the morning to get breakfast and then check out of my hotel. I am considering waking up to see the sunrise over the water however I am not even sure if the sun rises, or sets over the water. Since I do not have internet access I can not look it up either. It is 11:00 PM Fiji time, but only 9:00 PM Gold Coast time and so I am not ready for bed but I am going to try to force myself to go to bed early.
I will write more soon! Tomorrow I meet up with Sam at the place where I will be staying for the rest of my time in Fiji. Night!
Love you!
P.S. I just realized I have no clue how I am going to brush my teeth tonight! :/
BULLA!!!!!! I am in Fiji! Bulla means “hello” here and they say it sooo much! Everyone you pass says hello to you, it has a very friendly atmosphere. Also, when you arrive at the airport there is a live band playing tropical music and they put a necklace made of sea shells around your neck and introduce you to the term “Bulla” I can’t say it is gorgeous yet because I have spent the last five hours in the airport waiting to get to my resort so I haven’t really seen anything. It took me so long to get to my resort because I did not book a transfer ahead of time because every other trip I have been on I have been able to book a transfer to where I am staying really easily. Well turns out I got a hotel that is 110 KM away from the airport. I read it as 10 on accident when I paid for my room a couple weeks ago. To get a cab here would have been $200 which I was not about to pay. After finding that out a very nice worker told me he found a coach for me that would be going to the place I am staying for only $35. He said I missed the 5:55 barely and would have to wait for the 6:55 coach. I say ok and then go sit down and finish a couple Sodoku puzzles. Then at 7:00 he comes back and tells me the coach is back and I can put my luggage in the trailer. I was thinking we were leaving at 6:55; nope that is when he got back from his other trip. So I had to wait until everyone got off of their flight and got onto the coach, we left at 7:40.
It then took an hour and a half to get to the first resort where he was dropping everyone off and another hour on top of that to get to my place. Ouewrgoiuhgoerihgirhgerhigdr. I booked a nice hotel tonight because I wanted to not be by myself in a creepy area and I was really excited about spending my time in a hotel for once. Since starting again tomorrow I start up the sharing a room thing. Getting here at 10:35 PM (and having to leave at 7:30 AM tomorrow...) really makes it pointless to have even stayed here.
However, it is a really nice place!!! I have a HUUUGGE bed and a big bathroom all to myself as well. There are also pink flowers on my towels, and the towels are arranged really pretty. Get this, upon check in I got complementary water…and it was Fiji Water! I am drinking Fiji water, in Fiji! I love it!
Then in the fridge you get a huge complimentary platter of fresh fruits for you to eat. This is good, because I haven’t eaten today at all and I do not think there is a place for me to go eat dinner at tonight. I am literally twenty feet from the ocean (I can hear it in my room) however it is dark out, and so going near the beach kind of freaks me out lol. The stars are absolutely amazing though. I attempted to take a picture of them so you could see, however all that came out was a completely black picture!
I want to go look around and see what is around but I am a woos and am scared to walk alone since I am walking outside and it is kind of dark. There is a lighted path to the rooms, but still…I am just holding myself hostage in my room for the night. There isn’t anything to do in my room, I do not have a TV and do not have internet access.
I suppose that is good anyways since I have to be up at 6:45 in the morning to get breakfast and then check out of my hotel. I am considering waking up to see the sunrise over the water however I am not even sure if the sun rises, or sets over the water. Since I do not have internet access I can not look it up either. It is 11:00 PM Fiji time, but only 9:00 PM Gold Coast time and so I am not ready for bed but I am going to try to force myself to go to bed early.
I will write more soon! Tomorrow I meet up with Sam at the place where I will be staying for the rest of my time in Fiji. Night!
Love you!
P.S. I just realized I have no clue how I am going to brush my teeth tonight! :/
Goodbye Aussie, I will miss you!
Goodbye Aussie, I will miss you!
**WARNING** When I typed this I typed in ni Microsoft word and single spaced it was four pages long. Prepare for a LONG entry!
Who knew exactly how fast the past 130 days would go! I thought when I signed up for study abroad that these months would drag on and it would feel like I had been here forever, however it feels like I just got here and I have no clue where this past month went, it FLEW by! I thought that by the time came to come home I would be more then ready and willing to leave…however I don’t think I was fully ready to leave.. I love the parrots that fly around here, I love the scenery and even more I love the people I have met along the way. There are of course things I will not miss such as the bipolar weather and humidity but every great thing has to have a few down sides right?
Well I suppose I should update you on how my final day in Aussie went yesterday! I actually missed the bus to school on Wednesday which was really really REALLY bad because I had a final. Beth and I decided we had a fool proof plan to avoid either one of us missing the bus because we had the same final to go to. We were going to get on skype as soon as we woke up and if one of us hadn’t heard from the other by 7:15 we were going to call them. Well….that fool proof plan doesn’t work to well if you both sleep past your alarm haha. We woke up and got dressed in literally a minute and waited for the Metro Bus to come back and then begged Michael to do another trip to campus so we didn’t miss our 8:30 final. Thankfully he did! I knew I was asking for trouble when I went to bed at three the night before a final!
After the final I went to Movie World with Carolyn and Beth for one last time and went on the rollercoaster’s like two times each ride! We were hoping the park would be empty since it was a Wednesday and man were we wrong. On the first rollercoaster we went to we had to wait about 30 to 45 minutes just to get on it. However, it was so worth it. I love rollercoaster’s!!!! The first time we went to Movie World I had to convince Beth to ride the Superman rollercoaster, this time around she was sitting in the front row! If you go home and people want to know what you have improved or learned about yourself, tell them how brave you have become haha.
We were at the park until close and then had to catch a bus back to our apartments and got back around seven. The original plan was to have me pack and then we would go out but instead we went out first, and saved packing for later. In true Chelsea form!
We went out to the State of the Origin (look Beth I said it right!) and just had two drinks while watching the game before we headed home. It was a good game, Queensland won, which is where I live… (or I suppose I should save lived now) and so that is who I am going to cheer for! We won and that means we won the series… which I believe is what they call it. This was the fourth year in a row that Queensland beat New South Wales! The games are actually really fun to watch but for different reasons then you would think. I don’t honestly care about who wins, but watching how violent they get and some of the moves they use is quite hilarious to me. I should have watched more games while I was in Aussie.
After the game I went home and started packing (yes I had one suitcase packed on Sunday but basically had my entire room left to pack in the other suitcase). I finished packing at around midnight and was debating if I should stay up until six so I didn’t miss my shuttle to the airport or if I should get some sleep and hope not to oversleep. Once I finished packing I went over to Beth’s and we hung out while she packed up her Aussie life. I didn’t want to leave to go to bed because I knew it was the last time we were going to hang out.
However, at around 3 in the morning I decided I would get three hours of sleep and would just hope I didn’t miss my shuttle. I had to sleep without my stuffed animals since they were packed and had given my pillows away to Carolyn who is staying there for a year. Not having the best sleeping conditions I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep however I got knocked right out. I am assuming I was so tired because the night before I had gotten about three or four hours of sleep as well.
This morning Beth and Carolyn woke up at six to see me and so we could all say our goodbyes. It didn’t feel like I was really saying goodbye to them for real (real deal) it just felt like I was going to go away for the weekend and come back on Monday back to our normal routine. I really didn’t want to leave this morning but I had to go out front and wait for the shuttle so I didn’t miss it.
Once I got on the shuttle and we started driving away from Metro it hit me. I realized I wouldn’t see Metro, or Aldi, or ride the bus on Whiting and Brown St. anymore. It hit me that I am leaving and will most likely not come back for a long while. I really have come to feel like Australia is my home and I am going to miss it.
Once I let my brain start getting into thinking about how I don’t know when I will get back to Australia, and I don’t know when I will see any of the friends I made here my eyes started to water up. I felt like I would be fine if I listened to music and so I put my Ipod in and started listening to Celine Dion… which didn’t help lol. For whatever reason as soon as I started listening to Celine Dion I started to cry..not like sobbing but still crying. So I grabbed the biggest pair of sunnies I have out of my backpack and went back to staring out the window.
Somewhere along the line I calmed down and passed out on the bus. These people on the shuttle must have thought I was insane because I was crying at first, and then I went to bed and woke myself up from snoring hahaha! On the bright side when I woke up we were at the airport! It made the hour and a half ride go by super quick.
I got to the aiport thirty minutes before I was able to check in and so I just sat down and waiting for check in to open. I would have walked around but my big suitcase has a broken handle and so it is really hard to walk around with. That is one thing I will not miss about Australia is all the flight drama!
Once check in opened I was hoping and praying that I would not have to pay for overweight luggage. My first bag came to 24.1 Kilos and my second bag came to 17.9 Kilos. 1 Kilo = 2.2 Pounds if that makes it easier. (First bag was 53.02 pounds and second bag was 39.38 pounds). I asked her how close I was to having to pay and she said if my bag would have been 25 Kilos I would have had to pay for it. At that point I just kept thinking “ I AM SO LUCKY, I AM SO LUCKY, I AM SO LUCKY WWOOOOO HHHOOOOO!!!!!!!” I really did not want to pay for the extra luggage lol.
So after I checked in my bags I wandered around for a bit and then went down to customs and security. I completely forget I had things in the side of my backpack and ended up having to throw out a brand new tube of tooth paste, water (which I bought upstairs because it had a screw top so I figured it would be fine) and the last thing stung a bit when he took it away. The last item he took from me was my beloved tanning oil that smells SSSSOOOOO good and I was unbelievably excited to use it in Fiji so I would come home with a great tan. Whelp, I guess that is not happening anymore haha.
I told the guy I was unaware it was in there and tried to talk my way out of it but didn’t work. I guess I can’t talked my way out of everything, who would have thought haha. I am even more bummed because now it is just going to go to waste. Kat and Carolyn loved the smell of that stuff and I would have easily given it to them if I would have known. I hope the security guard at least realizes how amazing that stuff is and snatches it, goes home, strips naked and tans in his back yard with it. That way it is at least getting used and not getting tossed in to a rubbish bin! I just realized something that made me laugh a bit. I am more concerned I lost something that would get me tan, then losing something that cleans my teeth every morning…hahahhaha! I have my priorities right I see! Another bummer is Guy asked me if I had any tooth paste I could give him because he was out and I said no because I was taking it with me, sorry Guy! (BTW before I make Guy sound like a total bum he asked it because I gave him, Kat and Carolyn all the things I would not be bringing home with me...all my little hygienic stuff, school supplies, bathroom stuff, etc.)
Right now I am sitting on the plane flying over the ocean to Fiji and writing all of this. It is the first time I have really used my laptop on a airplane and it makes me feel so business like, even though I am just writing a blog. I feel like I am writing some long business proposal or something. If anyone asks I will tell them that is what I am doing just to make me look sophisticated haha. I would say just kidding to that last sentence…but I really don’t think I was haha!
We are flying on Air Pacific which is operated by Qauntas. I must say I would rather be on Qaunta’s then this flight. I like Quanta’s because each person gets a personalized television screen to entertain themselves and there is just a little bit more room around you. I am also flying Air Pacific on the way back and am hoping since it is a twelve hour flight that they would give us the upgraded version instead of a run down one. We will see!
Well… I guess the time has come to write my last blog entry about Australia. I can’t believe I won’t be travelling anymore and I am no longer going to be surrounded by someone who I truly consider one of my best friends now. I will of course keep in contact because I am pretty good at maintaining friend ships, I just can’t wait until we can go visit each other…hopefully it comes sooner rather then later.
I have definitely learned a lot about myself from this experience and could not express how happy I am that I decided to spend a semester abroad. I will miss the friends I have made since being here, but at the same time I am extremely excited to see my family and friends back home!
In the next couple days I will try to update you all on my Fiji experience, and then I will be home! I can’t believe It is Thursday and Monday I will be home… Still feels like I am returning back to Gold Coast after this weekend.
Alright I love you, miss you & will SEE you all soon!
Love,
Chels
**WARNING** When I typed this I typed in ni Microsoft word and single spaced it was four pages long. Prepare for a LONG entry!
Who knew exactly how fast the past 130 days would go! I thought when I signed up for study abroad that these months would drag on and it would feel like I had been here forever, however it feels like I just got here and I have no clue where this past month went, it FLEW by! I thought that by the time came to come home I would be more then ready and willing to leave…however I don’t think I was fully ready to leave.. I love the parrots that fly around here, I love the scenery and even more I love the people I have met along the way. There are of course things I will not miss such as the bipolar weather and humidity but every great thing has to have a few down sides right?
Well I suppose I should update you on how my final day in Aussie went yesterday! I actually missed the bus to school on Wednesday which was really really REALLY bad because I had a final. Beth and I decided we had a fool proof plan to avoid either one of us missing the bus because we had the same final to go to. We were going to get on skype as soon as we woke up and if one of us hadn’t heard from the other by 7:15 we were going to call them. Well….that fool proof plan doesn’t work to well if you both sleep past your alarm haha. We woke up and got dressed in literally a minute and waited for the Metro Bus to come back and then begged Michael to do another trip to campus so we didn’t miss our 8:30 final. Thankfully he did! I knew I was asking for trouble when I went to bed at three the night before a final!
After the final I went to Movie World with Carolyn and Beth for one last time and went on the rollercoaster’s like two times each ride! We were hoping the park would be empty since it was a Wednesday and man were we wrong. On the first rollercoaster we went to we had to wait about 30 to 45 minutes just to get on it. However, it was so worth it. I love rollercoaster’s!!!! The first time we went to Movie World I had to convince Beth to ride the Superman rollercoaster, this time around she was sitting in the front row! If you go home and people want to know what you have improved or learned about yourself, tell them how brave you have become haha.
We were at the park until close and then had to catch a bus back to our apartments and got back around seven. The original plan was to have me pack and then we would go out but instead we went out first, and saved packing for later. In true Chelsea form!
We went out to the State of the Origin (look Beth I said it right!) and just had two drinks while watching the game before we headed home. It was a good game, Queensland won, which is where I live… (or I suppose I should save lived now) and so that is who I am going to cheer for! We won and that means we won the series… which I believe is what they call it. This was the fourth year in a row that Queensland beat New South Wales! The games are actually really fun to watch but for different reasons then you would think. I don’t honestly care about who wins, but watching how violent they get and some of the moves they use is quite hilarious to me. I should have watched more games while I was in Aussie.
After the game I went home and started packing (yes I had one suitcase packed on Sunday but basically had my entire room left to pack in the other suitcase). I finished packing at around midnight and was debating if I should stay up until six so I didn’t miss my shuttle to the airport or if I should get some sleep and hope not to oversleep. Once I finished packing I went over to Beth’s and we hung out while she packed up her Aussie life. I didn’t want to leave to go to bed because I knew it was the last time we were going to hang out.
However, at around 3 in the morning I decided I would get three hours of sleep and would just hope I didn’t miss my shuttle. I had to sleep without my stuffed animals since they were packed and had given my pillows away to Carolyn who is staying there for a year. Not having the best sleeping conditions I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep however I got knocked right out. I am assuming I was so tired because the night before I had gotten about three or four hours of sleep as well.
This morning Beth and Carolyn woke up at six to see me and so we could all say our goodbyes. It didn’t feel like I was really saying goodbye to them for real (real deal) it just felt like I was going to go away for the weekend and come back on Monday back to our normal routine. I really didn’t want to leave this morning but I had to go out front and wait for the shuttle so I didn’t miss it.
Once I got on the shuttle and we started driving away from Metro it hit me. I realized I wouldn’t see Metro, or Aldi, or ride the bus on Whiting and Brown St. anymore. It hit me that I am leaving and will most likely not come back for a long while. I really have come to feel like Australia is my home and I am going to miss it.
Once I let my brain start getting into thinking about how I don’t know when I will get back to Australia, and I don’t know when I will see any of the friends I made here my eyes started to water up. I felt like I would be fine if I listened to music and so I put my Ipod in and started listening to Celine Dion… which didn’t help lol. For whatever reason as soon as I started listening to Celine Dion I started to cry..not like sobbing but still crying. So I grabbed the biggest pair of sunnies I have out of my backpack and went back to staring out the window.
Somewhere along the line I calmed down and passed out on the bus. These people on the shuttle must have thought I was insane because I was crying at first, and then I went to bed and woke myself up from snoring hahaha! On the bright side when I woke up we were at the airport! It made the hour and a half ride go by super quick.
I got to the aiport thirty minutes before I was able to check in and so I just sat down and waiting for check in to open. I would have walked around but my big suitcase has a broken handle and so it is really hard to walk around with. That is one thing I will not miss about Australia is all the flight drama!
Once check in opened I was hoping and praying that I would not have to pay for overweight luggage. My first bag came to 24.1 Kilos and my second bag came to 17.9 Kilos. 1 Kilo = 2.2 Pounds if that makes it easier. (First bag was 53.02 pounds and second bag was 39.38 pounds). I asked her how close I was to having to pay and she said if my bag would have been 25 Kilos I would have had to pay for it. At that point I just kept thinking “ I AM SO LUCKY, I AM SO LUCKY, I AM SO LUCKY WWOOOOO HHHOOOOO!!!!!!!” I really did not want to pay for the extra luggage lol.
So after I checked in my bags I wandered around for a bit and then went down to customs and security. I completely forget I had things in the side of my backpack and ended up having to throw out a brand new tube of tooth paste, water (which I bought upstairs because it had a screw top so I figured it would be fine) and the last thing stung a bit when he took it away. The last item he took from me was my beloved tanning oil that smells SSSSOOOOO good and I was unbelievably excited to use it in Fiji so I would come home with a great tan. Whelp, I guess that is not happening anymore haha.
I told the guy I was unaware it was in there and tried to talk my way out of it but didn’t work. I guess I can’t talked my way out of everything, who would have thought haha. I am even more bummed because now it is just going to go to waste. Kat and Carolyn loved the smell of that stuff and I would have easily given it to them if I would have known. I hope the security guard at least realizes how amazing that stuff is and snatches it, goes home, strips naked and tans in his back yard with it. That way it is at least getting used and not getting tossed in to a rubbish bin! I just realized something that made me laugh a bit. I am more concerned I lost something that would get me tan, then losing something that cleans my teeth every morning…hahahhaha! I have my priorities right I see! Another bummer is Guy asked me if I had any tooth paste I could give him because he was out and I said no because I was taking it with me, sorry Guy! (BTW before I make Guy sound like a total bum he asked it because I gave him, Kat and Carolyn all the things I would not be bringing home with me...all my little hygienic stuff, school supplies, bathroom stuff, etc.)
Right now I am sitting on the plane flying over the ocean to Fiji and writing all of this. It is the first time I have really used my laptop on a airplane and it makes me feel so business like, even though I am just writing a blog. I feel like I am writing some long business proposal or something. If anyone asks I will tell them that is what I am doing just to make me look sophisticated haha. I would say just kidding to that last sentence…but I really don’t think I was haha!
We are flying on Air Pacific which is operated by Qauntas. I must say I would rather be on Qaunta’s then this flight. I like Quanta’s because each person gets a personalized television screen to entertain themselves and there is just a little bit more room around you. I am also flying Air Pacific on the way back and am hoping since it is a twelve hour flight that they would give us the upgraded version instead of a run down one. We will see!
Well… I guess the time has come to write my last blog entry about Australia. I can’t believe I won’t be travelling anymore and I am no longer going to be surrounded by someone who I truly consider one of my best friends now. I will of course keep in contact because I am pretty good at maintaining friend ships, I just can’t wait until we can go visit each other…hopefully it comes sooner rather then later.
I have definitely learned a lot about myself from this experience and could not express how happy I am that I decided to spend a semester abroad. I will miss the friends I have made since being here, but at the same time I am extremely excited to see my family and friends back home!
In the next couple days I will try to update you all on my Fiji experience, and then I will be home! I can’t believe It is Thursday and Monday I will be home… Still feels like I am returning back to Gold Coast after this weekend.
Alright I love you, miss you & will SEE you all soon!
Love,
Chels
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Chelsea on the web...
Ok so I know I sometimes get confused in all the different things going on online so to make it easier for everyone here are a bunch of different ways you can contact me, look at pics of me, etc!
The obvious one is my blog (Please follow me so I know who is reading it!)
http://chelsea-is-abroad.blogspot.com/
Pictures to go along with the blog:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ChelseaTaylor77
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ChelseaTaylor77
Skype Name:
Chelseataylor77
Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/azallstar7
Alright that should keep you up to date at what I am up to!!!
Love you all!
The obvious one is my blog (Please follow me so I know who is reading it!)
http://chelsea-is-abroad.blogspot.com/
Pictures to go along with the blog:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ChelseaTaylor77
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ChelseaTaylor77
Skype Name:
Chelseataylor77
Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/azallstar7
Alright that should keep you up to date at what I am up to!!!
Love you all!
Happy Fathers Day!
 |
 |
| Make a Smilebox slideshow |
Dad!
I love you more then words could say and am very grateful to have you be half the reason I am here today! :) You make me laugh more then anyone else I know, and you have more love to hand out than any other dad out there.
I love you and miss you terribly!
Hope today is a great day for you!
Love,
Bean
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Grandma,
 |
|
| Make a Smilebox greeting |
You have been someone I can always look up to, and someone that I truly admire. I am lucky to share a name with you, but even more to share the memories we have made together. I love you! Enjoy today!
I love you a bushel and peck
A bushel and peck and a hug around the neck
A hug around the neck and a barrel and a heap
A barrel and a heap and I'm talking in my sleep
About you, about you
Cause I love you a bushel and a peck
You bet your pretty neck, I do
Doodle, oodle, oodle, doodle, oodle, oodle, doodle, oodle, oodle oo
I love you a bushel and peck
A bushel and peck though you make my heart a wreck
Make my heart a wreck and you make my life a mess
Make my life a mess, yes
A mess of happiness
About you, about you
Cause I love you a bushel and a peck
You bet your pretty neck, I do
Doodle, oodle, oodle, doodle, oodle, oodle, doodle, oodle, oodle oo
I love you a bushel and peck
A bushel and peck and it beats me all to heck
Beats me all to heck and I'll never tend the farm
Never tend the farm when I wanna keep my arm
About you, about you
Cause I love you a bushel and a peck
You bet your pretty neck, I do
Doodle, oodle, oodle, doodle, oodle, oodle, doodle, oodle, oodle oo
XOXO,
Chels
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Finals, Birthdays and Such
So since I am not traveling anymore while in Australia I figured I would just start writing about little things. I forewarn you, these posts probably will not be as fun to read as the ones where I am actually out doing stuff.
On Sunday we went out for Bethanys 21st birthday!!! Having been able to drink for the past four months it really didn't seem like a big deal but I tried my best to make it a good birthday for her! Sam, Guy, Carolyn, Kat, Beth and I started the celebrations at around 3:00 PM. We all got dressed up and then had to take the bus to where we were going. I felt very out of place walking in a black dress and heals onto the city bus haha. All well, at least my carbon footprint will be smaller from all the public transportation I have taken this semester!
After our bus ride we went to the Qdeck. Q1 is the tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere. It makes me laugh that I have to add the southern hemisphere part on every time I tell what the building is. We went to the 77th floor (in 47 seconds, the elevator was so fast we had to equalize our ears haha) and got there just in time to have a drink and watch the sunset. We ordered Tequila Sunrises and took pictures and just enjoyed the site. I am really going to miss the scenery from Australia. This is the only place I have been to that has the big city, beach and yet it doesn't feel like a major city at all. I love how green everything is here, def going to miss that when I head back to dry ol' Arizona.
So after Q1 we headed over to Benihana's for Beth's birthday dinner! This was only my second time being there but I would recomend this place for people wanting to go out and celebrate. (However keep in mind it is pretty expensive, you wouldn't go here on a normal basis). The dinner was good and consisted of the chef throwing eggs and shrimp at us. The chef threw a piece of shrimp at everyone and you had to try and catch it with your mouth. Out of eight people I was the only one who actually caught it with their mouth, which surprised me. I would not think I would have caught it haha.
After dinner we went and got tattoos. I got mine on my wrist and so did Beth. Before I go on maybe I should clarify that these were airbursh tattoos and not real ones haha! Actually mine is already wearing off and it has only been three days. Bummer. :(
After getting our amazing tattoos ;) we went out to Waxy's. Since it was Beth's 21st I kept buying her drinks and shots! I am sure she will celebrate her ability to buy alcoholic beverages when she gets back home to the states! After Waxy's (which is just like a small bar) we went out to the beach. Guy hoped into the water but the rest of us just put our feet in and watched guy run through the waves. After the beach we headed home. The next day (on Beths actual B-day) we went to Seaworld. This was my first time ever going to Seaworld and it was different then I expected. A day on the town, and a day at Seaworld is how Beth celebrated her 21st b-day! Luckily for her she goes home so close to when her birthday was that her friends at home will still want to celebrate it with her when she gets back to Rhode Island!
And now onto the not so fun stuff...school...
Today I had my first (and hardest) final at 8:30 in the morning. I had been studying for it and last night I realized that the entire time I had been studying I had been studying the wrong chapters. So even though I felt I had a good understanding on what I was studying it was completely pointless because I was studying chapters that were not going to be on the test. After realizing this I should have started reading the correct chapters and start my studying over, but instead I opted to watch Taken with Bethany and Carolyn. Sometimes a break from homework can do ya good!
I woke up this morning a little scared that I was unprepared for my exam and I got to campus thirty minutes early for a little last minute studying. However when it came time to take the exam (which was all open answer) I actually think I did really good! There were two questions I wasn't exactly sure and I made up some answer however I think I got what I needed to get the grade I wanted in the class. :)
Now all I have left is another paper that is due in a few hours (just have to finish editing it), one more essay due on Friday (which I have yet to start) and then one last final on the 24th. I am not really worried anymore since the hardest exam is out of the way! I expect my grades for this semester will be an A, two B's, and one C (Marketing!). Which will even out to a 3.0 for the semester which I am completely fine with. I know a lot of other students over here who if their GPA transferred back home they would be in some real trouble.
So that is all that is really knew with me.
Love you all!!!
On Sunday we went out for Bethanys 21st birthday!!! Having been able to drink for the past four months it really didn't seem like a big deal but I tried my best to make it a good birthday for her! Sam, Guy, Carolyn, Kat, Beth and I started the celebrations at around 3:00 PM. We all got dressed up and then had to take the bus to where we were going. I felt very out of place walking in a black dress and heals onto the city bus haha. All well, at least my carbon footprint will be smaller from all the public transportation I have taken this semester!
After our bus ride we went to the Qdeck. Q1 is the tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere. It makes me laugh that I have to add the southern hemisphere part on every time I tell what the building is. We went to the 77th floor (in 47 seconds, the elevator was so fast we had to equalize our ears haha) and got there just in time to have a drink and watch the sunset. We ordered Tequila Sunrises and took pictures and just enjoyed the site. I am really going to miss the scenery from Australia. This is the only place I have been to that has the big city, beach and yet it doesn't feel like a major city at all. I love how green everything is here, def going to miss that when I head back to dry ol' Arizona.
So after Q1 we headed over to Benihana's for Beth's birthday dinner! This was only my second time being there but I would recomend this place for people wanting to go out and celebrate. (However keep in mind it is pretty expensive, you wouldn't go here on a normal basis). The dinner was good and consisted of the chef throwing eggs and shrimp at us. The chef threw a piece of shrimp at everyone and you had to try and catch it with your mouth. Out of eight people I was the only one who actually caught it with their mouth, which surprised me. I would not think I would have caught it haha.
After dinner we went and got tattoos. I got mine on my wrist and so did Beth. Before I go on maybe I should clarify that these were airbursh tattoos and not real ones haha! Actually mine is already wearing off and it has only been three days. Bummer. :(
After getting our amazing tattoos ;) we went out to Waxy's. Since it was Beth's 21st I kept buying her drinks and shots! I am sure she will celebrate her ability to buy alcoholic beverages when she gets back home to the states! After Waxy's (which is just like a small bar) we went out to the beach. Guy hoped into the water but the rest of us just put our feet in and watched guy run through the waves. After the beach we headed home. The next day (on Beths actual B-day) we went to Seaworld. This was my first time ever going to Seaworld and it was different then I expected. A day on the town, and a day at Seaworld is how Beth celebrated her 21st b-day! Luckily for her she goes home so close to when her birthday was that her friends at home will still want to celebrate it with her when she gets back to Rhode Island!
And now onto the not so fun stuff...school...
Today I had my first (and hardest) final at 8:30 in the morning. I had been studying for it and last night I realized that the entire time I had been studying I had been studying the wrong chapters. So even though I felt I had a good understanding on what I was studying it was completely pointless because I was studying chapters that were not going to be on the test. After realizing this I should have started reading the correct chapters and start my studying over, but instead I opted to watch Taken with Bethany and Carolyn. Sometimes a break from homework can do ya good!
I woke up this morning a little scared that I was unprepared for my exam and I got to campus thirty minutes early for a little last minute studying. However when it came time to take the exam (which was all open answer) I actually think I did really good! There were two questions I wasn't exactly sure and I made up some answer however I think I got what I needed to get the grade I wanted in the class. :)
Now all I have left is another paper that is due in a few hours (just have to finish editing it), one more essay due on Friday (which I have yet to start) and then one last final on the 24th. I am not really worried anymore since the hardest exam is out of the way! I expect my grades for this semester will be an A, two B's, and one C (Marketing!). Which will even out to a 3.0 for the semester which I am completely fine with. I know a lot of other students over here who if their GPA transferred back home they would be in some real trouble.
So that is all that is really knew with me.
Love you all!!!
Friday, June 12, 2009
A pirates life for me!!!
Every time I go on a trip I get so excited to tell everybody back home about all of my adventures, and when it comes time to write in my blog I always end up finding different things to do. I love informing everyone about my trip, but for some reason having to write in a blog never seems to entertain me. However, after I write my blog I feel very happy and am glad that I did write in my blog. I think once I get home it will be very interesting to go back and read my old entries to remind me of how fortunate I have been to visit all the places I have been to, and do all the crazy things I have done this past semester. So now onto another post about one of my favorite trips...of course I say that about basically every trip I go on don't I?
From Saturday (June 6th) until Wednesday (June 10th) I went on a trip to the Whitsundays with people that live around me in my apartment complex. In total there were eight people' Karlie, Emily, Kate, Jordan, Guy, Austin, Beth and me. Even though it was a pretty big size group to go with it worked out really well for us in the end.
When we arrived on Saturday we had to take a forty minute bus ride to get t Airlie Beach where we were staying for the night. Airlie Beach is a really small town where most people go just as a gateway to go to the Whitsundays. However, I absolutely loved the town of Airlie beach. It of course was centered around the tourism but the town was absolutely gorgeous and when you did pass houses they were million dollars houses like you would see in California.
After our bus ride we went to check into our hostel for the night. Since it is the end of the semester we are all in saving money mode and since there was a even amount of people we decided to only book half the amount of beds as there were people. We booked four beds, for eight people and decided we would share beds in order to save money. This hostel had you pay to rent a pillow and comforter and so to continue on with our "saving money" theme we just went without either one for the night.
After check in we all got ready and we went out to beaches and mama africas for a night on the town. I had an absolute blast and my friend Karlie participated in a dance off at beaches that night. She laughs about the situation but I thought she did amazing...I could have never participated in a dance off with everyone watching haha.
We stayed out until about two that morning and then headed back to our hostel to attempt to get a good nights rest for the night. I am not thinking any of us had a good nights rest that night but it was all worth it nonetheless.
The next morning our group split into half. Karlie, Jordan, Emily, and Kate we all staying in Airlie Beach and Austin, Guy, Beth and I were all headed out to go on a two day, two night sailing trip. Our first stop before getting on the boat was the liquor store. We decided since we would be sailing for two days we would get rum. Funny enough later on in our trip we were all saying "Where has all the rum gone?" and felt like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean.
After buying our rum we went to check in and get on the boat. We had a decent walk to where the boat was but the town is so gorgeous every step of the way you had a gorgeous view to look at. After everyone getting the stinger suites and checking in we all hopped onto Matador (which was our boats name).
The captain went over standard rules and then we were off on our sailing trip. For the first day we didn't really do much except for sail around the islands. (By the way the Whitsundays are just a chain of 74 Islands and is a popular tourist destination in case you were wondering). We got to watch the boys put up the sail which took like six guys to do because it was so heavy and then got a good laugh at watching the girls attempt to do the same thing. Dad I did ask the details on the size of the boat but I don't really remember what they said. I THINK he said the thing that sticks out of the boat was either 115 or 150 feet tall, and the boat was 80 feet long? I'm not sure if that is exactly correct but that is what I am thinking.
After sailing for a few hours we stopped for where we would be staying for the night. Our boat had a diving board and so everyone took turns doing jumps and flips off of the side of the boat into the water. We were then able to see some giant fish come up to the boat when we threw bread into the water. I attempted to take pictures of these fish but they didn't come out all that great.
That night we just took the smaller boat to the island we were anchored next to and went to the resort bar. I had a berry martini and then called it a night. When we took the boat back to our boat there were some people who had had a few to many drinks and were getting sick on the boat. There was one guy getting sick over the side of the boat and another one getting sick in the bathroom. Sadly enough my bed was right next to the bathroom and so when I went into my room all I could hear/smell was that someone was getting sick. I waited up a few more hours hoping he would get better and go to bed and ended up having to go to bed with my room still smelling like that (and the guy completely passed out on the toilet lol).
The next morning we woke up bright and early to go to Whitehaven beach. Whitehaven beach is part of the Whitsunday Islands and is also the most photographed beach in the world. Once again we had to take our little motor boat which fit like 8 people at a time over to the island. We had 24 people on our trip in total and so the poor crew had to take the trip to the island four times to get everyone over. We took about a twenty minute walk to get over to Betty's Beach which is the part of Whitehaven that we visited.
Needless to say it was absolutely GORGEOUS! The sand is so small that you can literally clean your jewelery with it and it would come out looking brand new. The sand was also so soft that it felt like you were walking on flour. The sand was also probably the whitest sand I have seen since being in Australia.While we were there we also saw three stingrays swimming around in the water! We hung out there for about an hour and a half before we headed back onto the boat.
After getting back to our boat we went sailing for a bit and got the an outer part of the great barrier reef. You had the option to go snorkeling (which was included in the package) or go diving for an extra cost. Since we had already went diving three weeks before Beth and I opted for the snorkeling. Guy joined us and then Austin went diving for his first time ever.
I was happy I got to snorkel the reef one more time before I headed home and saw a lot of really cool colored fish, and once again I saw Nemo! There were also other cool fish like the Parrot Fish and Beth saw a completely black fish that had red lips! It is intimidating swimming over the reef with your large snorkeling gear (basically talking about the foot wear here). I did not want to hit the reef and damage it, but sadly I did end up kicking it a few times. I tried to be as cautious as possible though. I took my underwater disposable camera to try and get rid of the pictures I had left on it, however I am not going to develop these until I get home.
After snorkeling we went sailing for a few hours and the anchored for the night. After eating dinner we once again headed beck to the island to go to the resort bar once again. This time around I had a "Golden Sun" which was Bicardi, Pineapple, Banana and Orange juice. Very tasty. I have learned I like the girly fruity drinks and do not prefer beer (yuuucckkkk!!). Sad thing is beer is always the cheaper way to go and sometimes sacrifices have to be made.
We had an awesome time at the bar this time and have many inside jokes that have been formed from that night. Austin and Guy ended up pushing Bethany into the ocean in a wheelbarrow and getting her completely soaked from head to toe. After they broke their pinky promise to her that they weren't going to put her into the water Beth got her payback and pushed Guy into the water using the wheelbarrow as well.
After having our fun with the wheelbarrow we then went hunting for coconuts. (Actually on second thought I think this happened before the wheelbarrow but all well...I am telling it now!). After finding a good coconut we had Guy crack it open and we each tried the coconut milk! It honestly just tasted like normal milk to me. Then after we drank all of the milk we cracked the coconut completely open and ate the coconut. It was really dry and made you thirsty but it was cool to say I have tried a coconut from a tree while in Aussie. :)
After all of our adventures we headed back to the boat and called it a night. The next morning we had to pack all of our stuff up and get off of the boat. We arrived back to Airlie Beach around 11:00 AM and walked back to the lagoon to hang out for a while. After a while Beth and I decided we wanted to go check into the hostel and take a nice long shower. The downside to our sailing was that there was not a shower and so our daily "shower' was just us swimming in the ocean. We went back in and were only going to rent two beds for the four of us so that we could share beds and save money once again.
Literally two minutes after I paid for a bed in a room Guy comes over and tells us that Karlie, Emily, Jordan, and Kate had four empty beds in their room. They were told by someone checking out that they had already paid for the beds but were staying in a hotel instead so that we could stay in there instead. This worked out nicely so that we could all get our own bed for the night instead of sharing a bed. I tried to get a refund for my other room but it was nonrefundable and so the four of us shared the cost.
After checking in and taking a nice long warm shower we all just hung out in the room for a bit. Later on Karlie, Beth and I decided to go play some pool. Let me just say I am NOT good at this game. It took the three of us about an hour to finish one game overall. haha. Pathetic, I know, but it was still fun!
After playing pool and grabbing some dinner we went out to Beaches and Mama Africa's for one more night in Airlie Beach. After our night out we all went back to our rooms around 2:00 AM and headed to bed. Since we had not paid for a comforter I ended up sleeping under my towel to try and keep warm. It didn't really work though, I continued to freeze my butt off throughout the night.
In the morning I woke up to someone saying "who has a key? Excuse me, who should be here and who shouldn't?" Turns out someone rated us out and we got caught. The person who was waking us up was a worker from the hostel. Having only had a few hours none of us were ready for this ambush and weren't really sure what to do. Guy, Beth, and Austin were able to sneak out without having to pay and we made a plan to meet at the lagoon.
After attempting to say I didn't know any of the people who had left I ended up having to pay for a bed for the previous night (to be split between us on later on). My attempt to say that I did not know any of the other people in the room was pretty pathetic and when I look back at it I get a good laugh at it.
By 7:30 AM we were all out of the hostel with all of our bags and had basically set up camp on the lagoon. We went to the grocery store and bought breakfast and just ate at the lagoon. We ended up spending from 7:30 - 4:00 PM literally just laying out by the lagoon. I put more SPF on this day then I had for the entire trip. You would think that time would have gone by so slow but somehow we all made it pass by and it was a fun day nonetheless.
After catching a bus to the airport at 4:00 we had a flight to catch! We ended up catching our flight, catching a train for an hour and a half, another bus and then walking for twenty before we got home at 10:15 PM on Wednesday.
I had an absolute blast and was a good last trip to have. I still cannot believe my traveling in Australia is over! The last two weeks are going to be spent here in the Gold Coast getting things done such as school. :)
Alright well I hope you all enjoyed my story of how I went from being a pirate to homeless but for now I am headed to bed. It is 1:45 AM here and I am sure you are all amazed at how long this post already is. What can I say, I talk a lot!
I love you all!
xoxo
Chels
P.S. Pictures just finished uploading to Picasa so go take a look at them! :)
From Saturday (June 6th) until Wednesday (June 10th) I went on a trip to the Whitsundays with people that live around me in my apartment complex. In total there were eight people' Karlie, Emily, Kate, Jordan, Guy, Austin, Beth and me. Even though it was a pretty big size group to go with it worked out really well for us in the end.
When we arrived on Saturday we had to take a forty minute bus ride to get t Airlie Beach where we were staying for the night. Airlie Beach is a really small town where most people go just as a gateway to go to the Whitsundays. However, I absolutely loved the town of Airlie beach. It of course was centered around the tourism but the town was absolutely gorgeous and when you did pass houses they were million dollars houses like you would see in California.
After our bus ride we went to check into our hostel for the night. Since it is the end of the semester we are all in saving money mode and since there was a even amount of people we decided to only book half the amount of beds as there were people. We booked four beds, for eight people and decided we would share beds in order to save money. This hostel had you pay to rent a pillow and comforter and so to continue on with our "saving money" theme we just went without either one for the night.
After check in we all got ready and we went out to beaches and mama africas for a night on the town. I had an absolute blast and my friend Karlie participated in a dance off at beaches that night. She laughs about the situation but I thought she did amazing...I could have never participated in a dance off with everyone watching haha.
We stayed out until about two that morning and then headed back to our hostel to attempt to get a good nights rest for the night. I am not thinking any of us had a good nights rest that night but it was all worth it nonetheless.
The next morning our group split into half. Karlie, Jordan, Emily, and Kate we all staying in Airlie Beach and Austin, Guy, Beth and I were all headed out to go on a two day, two night sailing trip. Our first stop before getting on the boat was the liquor store. We decided since we would be sailing for two days we would get rum. Funny enough later on in our trip we were all saying "Where has all the rum gone?" and felt like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean.
After buying our rum we went to check in and get on the boat. We had a decent walk to where the boat was but the town is so gorgeous every step of the way you had a gorgeous view to look at. After everyone getting the stinger suites and checking in we all hopped onto Matador (which was our boats name).
The captain went over standard rules and then we were off on our sailing trip. For the first day we didn't really do much except for sail around the islands. (By the way the Whitsundays are just a chain of 74 Islands and is a popular tourist destination in case you were wondering). We got to watch the boys put up the sail which took like six guys to do because it was so heavy and then got a good laugh at watching the girls attempt to do the same thing. Dad I did ask the details on the size of the boat but I don't really remember what they said. I THINK he said the thing that sticks out of the boat was either 115 or 150 feet tall, and the boat was 80 feet long? I'm not sure if that is exactly correct but that is what I am thinking.
After sailing for a few hours we stopped for where we would be staying for the night. Our boat had a diving board and so everyone took turns doing jumps and flips off of the side of the boat into the water. We were then able to see some giant fish come up to the boat when we threw bread into the water. I attempted to take pictures of these fish but they didn't come out all that great.
That night we just took the smaller boat to the island we were anchored next to and went to the resort bar. I had a berry martini and then called it a night. When we took the boat back to our boat there were some people who had had a few to many drinks and were getting sick on the boat. There was one guy getting sick over the side of the boat and another one getting sick in the bathroom. Sadly enough my bed was right next to the bathroom and so when I went into my room all I could hear/smell was that someone was getting sick. I waited up a few more hours hoping he would get better and go to bed and ended up having to go to bed with my room still smelling like that (and the guy completely passed out on the toilet lol).
The next morning we woke up bright and early to go to Whitehaven beach. Whitehaven beach is part of the Whitsunday Islands and is also the most photographed beach in the world. Once again we had to take our little motor boat which fit like 8 people at a time over to the island. We had 24 people on our trip in total and so the poor crew had to take the trip to the island four times to get everyone over. We took about a twenty minute walk to get over to Betty's Beach which is the part of Whitehaven that we visited.
Needless to say it was absolutely GORGEOUS! The sand is so small that you can literally clean your jewelery with it and it would come out looking brand new. The sand was also so soft that it felt like you were walking on flour. The sand was also probably the whitest sand I have seen since being in Australia.While we were there we also saw three stingrays swimming around in the water! We hung out there for about an hour and a half before we headed back onto the boat.
After getting back to our boat we went sailing for a bit and got the an outer part of the great barrier reef. You had the option to go snorkeling (which was included in the package) or go diving for an extra cost. Since we had already went diving three weeks before Beth and I opted for the snorkeling. Guy joined us and then Austin went diving for his first time ever.
I was happy I got to snorkel the reef one more time before I headed home and saw a lot of really cool colored fish, and once again I saw Nemo! There were also other cool fish like the Parrot Fish and Beth saw a completely black fish that had red lips! It is intimidating swimming over the reef with your large snorkeling gear (basically talking about the foot wear here). I did not want to hit the reef and damage it, but sadly I did end up kicking it a few times. I tried to be as cautious as possible though. I took my underwater disposable camera to try and get rid of the pictures I had left on it, however I am not going to develop these until I get home.
After snorkeling we went sailing for a few hours and the anchored for the night. After eating dinner we once again headed beck to the island to go to the resort bar once again. This time around I had a "Golden Sun" which was Bicardi, Pineapple, Banana and Orange juice. Very tasty. I have learned I like the girly fruity drinks and do not prefer beer (yuuucckkkk!!). Sad thing is beer is always the cheaper way to go and sometimes sacrifices have to be made.
We had an awesome time at the bar this time and have many inside jokes that have been formed from that night. Austin and Guy ended up pushing Bethany into the ocean in a wheelbarrow and getting her completely soaked from head to toe. After they broke their pinky promise to her that they weren't going to put her into the water Beth got her payback and pushed Guy into the water using the wheelbarrow as well.
After having our fun with the wheelbarrow we then went hunting for coconuts. (Actually on second thought I think this happened before the wheelbarrow but all well...I am telling it now!). After finding a good coconut we had Guy crack it open and we each tried the coconut milk! It honestly just tasted like normal milk to me. Then after we drank all of the milk we cracked the coconut completely open and ate the coconut. It was really dry and made you thirsty but it was cool to say I have tried a coconut from a tree while in Aussie. :)
After all of our adventures we headed back to the boat and called it a night. The next morning we had to pack all of our stuff up and get off of the boat. We arrived back to Airlie Beach around 11:00 AM and walked back to the lagoon to hang out for a while. After a while Beth and I decided we wanted to go check into the hostel and take a nice long shower. The downside to our sailing was that there was not a shower and so our daily "shower' was just us swimming in the ocean. We went back in and were only going to rent two beds for the four of us so that we could share beds and save money once again.
Literally two minutes after I paid for a bed in a room Guy comes over and tells us that Karlie, Emily, Jordan, and Kate had four empty beds in their room. They were told by someone checking out that they had already paid for the beds but were staying in a hotel instead so that we could stay in there instead. This worked out nicely so that we could all get our own bed for the night instead of sharing a bed. I tried to get a refund for my other room but it was nonrefundable and so the four of us shared the cost.
After checking in and taking a nice long warm shower we all just hung out in the room for a bit. Later on Karlie, Beth and I decided to go play some pool. Let me just say I am NOT good at this game. It took the three of us about an hour to finish one game overall. haha. Pathetic, I know, but it was still fun!
After playing pool and grabbing some dinner we went out to Beaches and Mama Africa's for one more night in Airlie Beach. After our night out we all went back to our rooms around 2:00 AM and headed to bed. Since we had not paid for a comforter I ended up sleeping under my towel to try and keep warm. It didn't really work though, I continued to freeze my butt off throughout the night.
In the morning I woke up to someone saying "who has a key? Excuse me, who should be here and who shouldn't?" Turns out someone rated us out and we got caught. The person who was waking us up was a worker from the hostel. Having only had a few hours none of us were ready for this ambush and weren't really sure what to do. Guy, Beth, and Austin were able to sneak out without having to pay and we made a plan to meet at the lagoon.
After attempting to say I didn't know any of the people who had left I ended up having to pay for a bed for the previous night (to be split between us on later on). My attempt to say that I did not know any of the other people in the room was pretty pathetic and when I look back at it I get a good laugh at it.
By 7:30 AM we were all out of the hostel with all of our bags and had basically set up camp on the lagoon. We went to the grocery store and bought breakfast and just ate at the lagoon. We ended up spending from 7:30 - 4:00 PM literally just laying out by the lagoon. I put more SPF on this day then I had for the entire trip. You would think that time would have gone by so slow but somehow we all made it pass by and it was a fun day nonetheless.
After catching a bus to the airport at 4:00 we had a flight to catch! We ended up catching our flight, catching a train for an hour and a half, another bus and then walking for twenty before we got home at 10:15 PM on Wednesday.
I had an absolute blast and was a good last trip to have. I still cannot believe my traveling in Australia is over! The last two weeks are going to be spent here in the Gold Coast getting things done such as school. :)
Alright well I hope you all enjoyed my story of how I went from being a pirate to homeless but for now I am headed to bed. It is 1:45 AM here and I am sure you are all amazed at how long this post already is. What can I say, I talk a lot!
I love you all!
xoxo
Chels
P.S. Pictures just finished uploading to Picasa so go take a look at them! :)
Friday, June 5, 2009
I'll be home soon! :)
So I have my official flight home and it is soon, very soon! In fact I will be back home by the end of THIS month! It is so crazy how fast time flies. Here is what my flight info looks like:
Leave Brisbane at 11:30 AM on June 25th
Arrive at Nadi (Fiji) 5 PM on June 25th.
Leave Fiji 10 PM June 29th
Arrive in LA at 1:20 PM June 29th
Three hour layover
Leave LA 4:20 PM June 29th
Arrive in Phx 5:43 PM June 29th!!!!
So even though I will fly for eleven hours from Fiji, have a three hour layover, and another two hours flight I will still be getting back on June 29th (even earlier then the time I left Fiji!).
The time difference is crazy but I am very excited to finally have all of this figured out. I am going to meet Sam (I Traveled with her to Byron Bay & Melbourne) in Fiji and we also have the same flight to LA.
I am leaving for the Whitsundays tomorrow and will be back on Wednesday (June 6th- June 10th). This is my last big trip I am taking while I am in Australia! Then once I get back next week it will be time to write my two final papers and study for the two exams I am. Then next thing you know it I will be packing to go to Fiji and leave Australia!
I will update you all on my trip when I get home & I am sure I will have loads of pictures for you to all enjoy.
Talk to you all soon! Actually lets change that to SEE you all soon. :)
Love,
Chels
Leave Brisbane at 11:30 AM on June 25th
Arrive at Nadi (Fiji) 5 PM on June 25th.
Leave Fiji 10 PM June 29th
Arrive in LA at 1:20 PM June 29th
Three hour layover
Leave LA 4:20 PM June 29th
Arrive in Phx 5:43 PM June 29th!!!!
So even though I will fly for eleven hours from Fiji, have a three hour layover, and another two hours flight I will still be getting back on June 29th (even earlier then the time I left Fiji!).
The time difference is crazy but I am very excited to finally have all of this figured out. I am going to meet Sam (I Traveled with her to Byron Bay & Melbourne) in Fiji and we also have the same flight to LA.
I am leaving for the Whitsundays tomorrow and will be back on Wednesday (June 6th- June 10th). This is my last big trip I am taking while I am in Australia! Then once I get back next week it will be time to write my two final papers and study for the two exams I am. Then next thing you know it I will be packing to go to Fiji and leave Australia!
I will update you all on my trip when I get home & I am sure I will have loads of pictures for you to all enjoy.
Talk to you all soon! Actually lets change that to SEE you all soon. :)
Love,
Chels
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
