Wow... when I was missing Australia very much (I just passed my one year anniversary of arrival) jetting off to another country couldn't have come at a better time. I have made it all the way around the world to Dhaka, Bangladesh. We had a 12 hour flight to Dubai and just a short enough layover to keep us from leaving the airport and exploring a city I've always wanted to go to. After that we had a 4 hour flight to Dhaka where we were greeted by many mosquitoes and a small bus to carry us and our many bags to our apartment. Had I not been completely delirious from exhaustion that short ride through the city might have seemed quite perilous. However, after thinking we were going to plow down countless pedestrians, a few rickshaws, and even a small car or two... we made it to our apartment without incident.
The city itself is so crowded. There are people, rickshaws, and a few cars everywhere! All of which have one rule for the road: don't get hit. There are a few ways to try and prevent this; the first of which is to honk or ring your rickshaw bell. The second is to flash your headlights or turn on your four-ways. The third way is to yell as the person you are about to smash into. And the fourth is to run. Fast. I've learned that any ringing bell of any honking horn, depending on it's proximity, alerts you to impending death and you need to do a quick sidestep towards the curb.
We had a wonderful day exploring the city today with some students from the university here. It was nice to go out and see the people, the city, do some shopping, and eat some of the local food. Our meal today was absolutely fabulous! For three people the bill came to 750Taka, which came to $10usd. Insane. Everything here is so cheap. While the day has been wonderful, the impact of the poverty is already taking its toll on me. You can't walk outside without seeing some gut-wrenching sight that is so painful. The beggars in the city center grabbing on to your arm and asking for cash is just to depressing and unbelievably hard to stomach. You feel like you can help them and give them some money, but if we helped one person we'd have to help them all. It's so painful.
However, today was a great day! I believe we're going to an orphanage tomorrow and then having a class in the evening. I am loving it so far, and am excited to get the blog up and running again. I hope everyone enjoys it. The Internet is very slow here, so I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update this, but I'll try my best to do it often. Hope everyone is well at home and not buried in snow.
Love and Miss you all!
Daniel
Friday, February 26, 2010
Sunday, June 28, 2009
The End
Well the cab has been called, and we have about 30 minutes left in The Village. All of our friends that are left over have stayed up to see us off at 4am. :)
It is so bittersweet to be leaving here. I have made so many close friends and can't imagine not being with them every day starting tomorrow. Though it will be so nice to get home, and get into a summer groove, it will be incredibly weird leaving what has become so normal over the last four and a half months.
I have a long travel period ahead of me... something like 38 hours door to door. Everything is packed and it's just so weird! Now that it's happening though... I'm ready to be going home. Hopefully I can enjoy my flights and not have any problems.
I suppose this may be the last, or second to last post on the blog. I hope you all have enjoyed reading through my adventures and I also hope that I have managed to entertain you all. It has been such an amazing semester and I cannot wait to tell everyone about it.
Hope all is well at home!
Love and miss you all!
It is so bittersweet to be leaving here. I have made so many close friends and can't imagine not being with them every day starting tomorrow. Though it will be so nice to get home, and get into a summer groove, it will be incredibly weird leaving what has become so normal over the last four and a half months.
I have a long travel period ahead of me... something like 38 hours door to door. Everything is packed and it's just so weird! Now that it's happening though... I'm ready to be going home. Hopefully I can enjoy my flights and not have any problems.
I suppose this may be the last, or second to last post on the blog. I hope you all have enjoyed reading through my adventures and I also hope that I have managed to entertain you all. It has been such an amazing semester and I cannot wait to tell everyone about it.
Hope all is well at home!
Love and miss you all!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Nearing The End
As I write this, we have already lost 4 people from our group. The next three to leave will be Trina, Steffen, and myself. We stayed up until 4am last night to watch Emma, Lauren, and Stephanie get in their taxi to start their treks home. It was so sad to see them go, knowing that I won't see some of them for quite a long time. We were so exhausted after they left, that we immediately went to bed and crashed. I woke up rather early this morning, walked down the hall to Lauren's room, and was so depressed to see it completely empty.
Being in Toowoomba without all of these people is so hard. Lauren isn't just down the hall, Alex's loud voice isn't booming through the house, and I can't text Stephanie with some witty comment or funny story. Being one of the last to leave is definitely hard. Tonight is my last full night in Toowoomba, as Trina and I are also taking a 4am cab tomorrow night. Tomorrow should consist of packing, having a few cocktails, and finishing off as much of our food that we still have as possible. Luckily we still have a rather large group of people to keep company with. Casey and Michelle will be in Toowoomba for two more weeks, and Tyler is here for the next semester. Though our group is smaller, we still are having a good time, making each other laugh, and trying not to get too sad about those that are missing.
This semester has been one of the most inspiring times in my life. I have met so many different and amazing people who have all given me a boost to become a better person. All of my friends here are so caring, loving, hilarious, intelligent, and beautiful people. Leaving them is going to be so incredibly hard. Knowing that we all may never be in the same place at the same time again, and especially not in Toowoomba, is so painful. I anticipate needing an entire box of tissues for my flights home. This semester has also sparked my love for traveling. I cannot wait to explore as much of this world as possible. Before coming to Australia I told myself I was going to take any opportunity that was given to me throughout the semester. I believe I did just that. Though there were still so many other things I would have liked to do or see, I believe that I did so much considering the time and money constraints. All of those I didn't get to, will just head my to-do list for the next time I'm down under.
This must be one of the most bittersweet times in my life. While I am so sad to leave my friends and the wonderful dynamic we've created, I am also ready to bid Toowoomba adieu and get back to beautiful Vermont! Summer in Vermont could quite possibly be my most favorite thing. The mountains are so beautiful, it's sunny and warm, and everyone is so carefree. I cannot wait to see you all and tell of the details of my semester! Even though I will be exhausted from 40 hours of traveling, incredibly jet-lagged, and maybe as greasy as a frialator, I will instantly be rejuvenated by the sight of family, friends, and beautiful Bethel and Burlington. I am so fortunate to have been able to experience this semester and all that it has entailed. But I am even more fortunate to be able to return to a place like Vermont.
I will do my best to post again tomorrow night before I leave. My flight schedule is something like this: Fly from Brisbane to Sydney at/around 11am (9pmEST Sunday) , Sydney to San Francisco, and then from SanFran to Boston getting in around 10:30pmEST Monday night. Should be in Bethel by 2am... which will of course feel like 4pm that same day. Super. :)
Can't wait to see you all!
Hope all is well!
Miss you all!
Being in Toowoomba without all of these people is so hard. Lauren isn't just down the hall, Alex's loud voice isn't booming through the house, and I can't text Stephanie with some witty comment or funny story. Being one of the last to leave is definitely hard. Tonight is my last full night in Toowoomba, as Trina and I are also taking a 4am cab tomorrow night. Tomorrow should consist of packing, having a few cocktails, and finishing off as much of our food that we still have as possible. Luckily we still have a rather large group of people to keep company with. Casey and Michelle will be in Toowoomba for two more weeks, and Tyler is here for the next semester. Though our group is smaller, we still are having a good time, making each other laugh, and trying not to get too sad about those that are missing.
This semester has been one of the most inspiring times in my life. I have met so many different and amazing people who have all given me a boost to become a better person. All of my friends here are so caring, loving, hilarious, intelligent, and beautiful people. Leaving them is going to be so incredibly hard. Knowing that we all may never be in the same place at the same time again, and especially not in Toowoomba, is so painful. I anticipate needing an entire box of tissues for my flights home. This semester has also sparked my love for traveling. I cannot wait to explore as much of this world as possible. Before coming to Australia I told myself I was going to take any opportunity that was given to me throughout the semester. I believe I did just that. Though there were still so many other things I would have liked to do or see, I believe that I did so much considering the time and money constraints. All of those I didn't get to, will just head my to-do list for the next time I'm down under.
This must be one of the most bittersweet times in my life. While I am so sad to leave my friends and the wonderful dynamic we've created, I am also ready to bid Toowoomba adieu and get back to beautiful Vermont! Summer in Vermont could quite possibly be my most favorite thing. The mountains are so beautiful, it's sunny and warm, and everyone is so carefree. I cannot wait to see you all and tell of the details of my semester! Even though I will be exhausted from 40 hours of traveling, incredibly jet-lagged, and maybe as greasy as a frialator, I will instantly be rejuvenated by the sight of family, friends, and beautiful Bethel and Burlington. I am so fortunate to have been able to experience this semester and all that it has entailed. But I am even more fortunate to be able to return to a place like Vermont.
I will do my best to post again tomorrow night before I leave. My flight schedule is something like this: Fly from Brisbane to Sydney at/around 11am (9pmEST Sunday) , Sydney to San Francisco, and then from SanFran to Boston getting in around 10:30pmEST Monday night. Should be in Bethel by 2am... which will of course feel like 4pm that same day. Super. :)
Can't wait to see you all!
Hope all is well!
Miss you all!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Byron Bay and some Severe Realization
Let me start off by telling you all that I finished my three finals, they went very well, and I'm on easy street until we head back stateside. :)
Anyway, back to my adventures. When talking to anyone in Australia about where I should go and what I should see I don't think a single person didn't say Byron Bay. So with one weekend left to travel, I decided that I was going to Byron Bay. I rented my first car as a 21yo, and told all of my friends that they were welcome to come and the car was on me. Sadly, because of finals and cashflow, almost no one could come. Thankfully, Lauren was able to come... so per usual, I had my travel buddy! After I went downtown and rented the car, Lauren and I had a leisurely morning in Toowoomba, got in the car, and headed south towards Byron Bay. Having a car to go places in Australia is such a simple luxury and it made me realize how much I miss my car.
The drive down to Byron was beautiful! Bright blue skies and an abundance of sun... until we got to Byron. Clearly. As we were heading south we saw this WALL of black clouds... which basically started about 1km north of Byron. However, even though it poured rain for most of the weekend, it was sunny in the times that we needed it, so all was well. Byron is basically a huge hippie/surf town. Everyone there has dreadlocks and is so laid back. It was perfect.
Our friend from UVM, Melissa - who studied in Perth this semester, had just been in Cairns for the last few days before this and was flying down to meet us in Byron, hang out there, and then come back to spend her last few days in Australia with us in Toowoomba... poor soul. It was so nice to see Melissa, as we hadn't seen her since we went to Sydney in March. I had forgotten how long ago it was when we went to Sydney, and that's when it first hit me that this semester was nearly over and I couldn't believe it.
In Byron we walked around through all of the shops, ate almost every meal out, went out, visited the lighthouse and the easterly most point in the Australian mainland, and also remembered our skills learned in Surfer's Paradise, rented a board, and did some surfing. It was just a few days in Byron, but it really was fun. Because it rains there almost all the time, it was so incredibly green. The lighthouse was very neat, and being on a hill, it provided for some beautiful views of the coast and the whales migrating. It was so nice. We also tried our hand at surfing again, which was pretty good actually. I was pleased that I remembered how and was still slightly able. Even with the rain, Byron was a great town and we had a good few days there.
Melissa came back home with us and spent her last weekend in Toowoomba, before flying to Sydney for a day to go home. She was lucky enough to ride on the TT Coaches on her way to Brisbane. Clearly we couldn't send her home without a ride in one of their death traps. Sorry if this bit about Byron was flighty... I just really want to blog about this next bit and can't think of much else right now.
Last night at 8pm we had a severe realization that things can go wrong, and do, and one minute you're having fun in Toowoomba, and the next you are on a flight back to Germany. Our roommate Alex got a call from home last night telling him that his dad's cancer was back and it had spread. The doctor said he might have two weeks, maybe two months, they didn't know. Watching Alex get this news really hit home. It brought us so close to pain and the realization that this could have been any of our family members. What seems like such an amazing semester, could have been ripped out from under any of us at any point. Alex was meant to meet his friend from Germany in a week and spend two weeks driving around Australia. However, he decided that he needed to be home. We all seemed to know what needed to be done. Casey and Michelle packed Alex's entire room, Lauren packed snacks, Steffen did so many logistical things that we never would have thought about, Stephanie started baking, Trina took care of Alex, and I booked him a new flight for Germany at 2am. This was our first test as a group of friends with something as serious and sad as this. I was so proud of us and how everyone did what needed to be done.
The worst part of all of this, is that Alex (and us), weren't intending for this to happen. His exit was unanticipated and we never had time to process it. He got the call at 8 and we were in the car to Brisbane by 10. It was a whirlwind of emotion and I was just not prepared for it. As he was walking through security, those of us that took him to the airport realized that we wouldn't be seeing him in quite a while, and never again in unit 73 of The Village. This is when it hit me that this semester is ending almost immediately. Sure, I knew that it was only a few days until I went home, but I guess I didn't realize that I am not going to see all of these new friends I've made... in quite a while. I'm probably going to be a wreck when it's time for the others to start going. Everyone here has become my family and some of my closest friends. Not seeing them everyday is going to be harder to get used to than coming to Australia in the first point.
This whole Alex thing instilled in me that even though you may have all of these plans, you can't control what actually happens in life. This wasn't how he was supposed to leave Toowoomba, and our weekend will be weird without him. However, we'll make it work, because we have to. My thoughts are with Alex and his family, and I am so incredibly thankful for my family's health.
Hope all is well at home!
Miss you all!
(4 days)
Anyway, back to my adventures. When talking to anyone in Australia about where I should go and what I should see I don't think a single person didn't say Byron Bay. So with one weekend left to travel, I decided that I was going to Byron Bay. I rented my first car as a 21yo, and told all of my friends that they were welcome to come and the car was on me. Sadly, because of finals and cashflow, almost no one could come. Thankfully, Lauren was able to come... so per usual, I had my travel buddy! After I went downtown and rented the car, Lauren and I had a leisurely morning in Toowoomba, got in the car, and headed south towards Byron Bay. Having a car to go places in Australia is such a simple luxury and it made me realize how much I miss my car.
The drive down to Byron was beautiful! Bright blue skies and an abundance of sun... until we got to Byron. Clearly. As we were heading south we saw this WALL of black clouds... which basically started about 1km north of Byron. However, even though it poured rain for most of the weekend, it was sunny in the times that we needed it, so all was well. Byron is basically a huge hippie/surf town. Everyone there has dreadlocks and is so laid back. It was perfect.
Our friend from UVM, Melissa - who studied in Perth this semester, had just been in Cairns for the last few days before this and was flying down to meet us in Byron, hang out there, and then come back to spend her last few days in Australia with us in Toowoomba... poor soul. It was so nice to see Melissa, as we hadn't seen her since we went to Sydney in March. I had forgotten how long ago it was when we went to Sydney, and that's when it first hit me that this semester was nearly over and I couldn't believe it.
In Byron we walked around through all of the shops, ate almost every meal out, went out, visited the lighthouse and the easterly most point in the Australian mainland, and also remembered our skills learned in Surfer's Paradise, rented a board, and did some surfing. It was just a few days in Byron, but it really was fun. Because it rains there almost all the time, it was so incredibly green. The lighthouse was very neat, and being on a hill, it provided for some beautiful views of the coast and the whales migrating. It was so nice. We also tried our hand at surfing again, which was pretty good actually. I was pleased that I remembered how and was still slightly able. Even with the rain, Byron was a great town and we had a good few days there.
Melissa came back home with us and spent her last weekend in Toowoomba, before flying to Sydney for a day to go home. She was lucky enough to ride on the TT Coaches on her way to Brisbane. Clearly we couldn't send her home without a ride in one of their death traps. Sorry if this bit about Byron was flighty... I just really want to blog about this next bit and can't think of much else right now.
Last night at 8pm we had a severe realization that things can go wrong, and do, and one minute you're having fun in Toowoomba, and the next you are on a flight back to Germany. Our roommate Alex got a call from home last night telling him that his dad's cancer was back and it had spread. The doctor said he might have two weeks, maybe two months, they didn't know. Watching Alex get this news really hit home. It brought us so close to pain and the realization that this could have been any of our family members. What seems like such an amazing semester, could have been ripped out from under any of us at any point. Alex was meant to meet his friend from Germany in a week and spend two weeks driving around Australia. However, he decided that he needed to be home. We all seemed to know what needed to be done. Casey and Michelle packed Alex's entire room, Lauren packed snacks, Steffen did so many logistical things that we never would have thought about, Stephanie started baking, Trina took care of Alex, and I booked him a new flight for Germany at 2am. This was our first test as a group of friends with something as serious and sad as this. I was so proud of us and how everyone did what needed to be done.
The worst part of all of this, is that Alex (and us), weren't intending for this to happen. His exit was unanticipated and we never had time to process it. He got the call at 8 and we were in the car to Brisbane by 10. It was a whirlwind of emotion and I was just not prepared for it. As he was walking through security, those of us that took him to the airport realized that we wouldn't be seeing him in quite a while, and never again in unit 73 of The Village. This is when it hit me that this semester is ending almost immediately. Sure, I knew that it was only a few days until I went home, but I guess I didn't realize that I am not going to see all of these new friends I've made... in quite a while. I'm probably going to be a wreck when it's time for the others to start going. Everyone here has become my family and some of my closest friends. Not seeing them everyday is going to be harder to get used to than coming to Australia in the first point.
This whole Alex thing instilled in me that even though you may have all of these plans, you can't control what actually happens in life. This wasn't how he was supposed to leave Toowoomba, and our weekend will be weird without him. However, we'll make it work, because we have to. My thoughts are with Alex and his family, and I am so incredibly thankful for my family's health.
Hope all is well at home!
Miss you all!
(4 days)
Friday, June 12, 2009
Home "sweet" Home
Back in Toowoomba after a 6 hour drive from Mitchell! The trip back was a lot better than the trip there because it was rainy on the way there, and today was one of the nicest days! The Outback looks so much more incredible in the sunlight!
It was weird driving in to Toowoomba today... a town that has seemed so small to me in the past seemed so large when entering today and coming from a town of 1,000. I walked to campus to mail a card today, and it seemed like forever since I had been here. The smell of curry that fills The Village filled my nostrils when returning from my walk... something that wasn't very missed.
I do miss Mitchell, and the people, heaps already! Everyone was so incredibly nice and accommodating towards us and I really felt like we were part of their family. I was wicked sad to leave everyone this morning. Mostly because I have a feeling I won't see most of those people ever again, but also because leaving Mitchell signified that it's time to start saying goodbye to people and places that have become so familiar and normal to me. I only have 18 days left in Australia and I already know they are going to go by too fast. I still have so many places I want to see and things to do, and I just don't have the time to do them. I've already made a list of things to do the next time I come.
However, it's time to start studying for finals as I have one Monday and another Wednesday. I'm hoping to go away for a bit next weekend, but we shall see.
It was weird driving in to Toowoomba today... a town that has seemed so small to me in the past seemed so large when entering today and coming from a town of 1,000. I walked to campus to mail a card today, and it seemed like forever since I had been here. The smell of curry that fills The Village filled my nostrils when returning from my walk... something that wasn't very missed.
I do miss Mitchell, and the people, heaps already! Everyone was so incredibly nice and accommodating towards us and I really felt like we were part of their family. I was wicked sad to leave everyone this morning. Mostly because I have a feeling I won't see most of those people ever again, but also because leaving Mitchell signified that it's time to start saying goodbye to people and places that have become so familiar and normal to me. I only have 18 days left in Australia and I already know they are going to go by too fast. I still have so many places I want to see and things to do, and I just don't have the time to do them. I've already made a list of things to do the next time I come.
However, it's time to start studying for finals as I have one Monday and another Wednesday. I'm hoping to go away for a bit next weekend, but we shall see.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Another small town
Mitchell, Queensland! Love it!
When I first found out that I would be going to Mitchell, and even more so after I saw the population on Wikipedia (1,000), I was a little apprehensive about spending two weeks in a town half the size of Bethel. That was, of course, before I met all of the wonderful people from Mitchell. Today marks the week mark of our arrival here.
The nursing quarters that we are staying in are really nice. We have a nice kitchen, nice bathrooms, heaters in our rooms, and a big TV in the living room. The best part may be that it is a 30sec walk to the hospital. The hospital is a small community hospital, but it is rarely quiet. We have four permanent residents which keep us on our toes, as well as various other outpatients that come to the hospital presenting with loads of different problems. Clearly I cannot divulge any of these problems, but I have been getting a proper nursing training. Which I was skeptical of before arriving. The nurses and other staff at the hospital have been so accommodating and incredibly nice since we have arrived. I feel like I've been here for such a long time. It's funny to get back into that small town feel and remember that everyone IS related and everyone DOES know everyone's business.
Mitchell itself is a quaint little town. Being the "Gateway to the Outback" it is very flat and looks a lot like grasslands. There is one main street with two grocery stores, a hardware store, two clothing stores, a butcher, a bakery, and a pharmacy. Most of the corners in town have hotels on them, with bars beneath. The side streets are mainly filled with homes, and a few restaurants or bottle shops. There is also one gas station. :)
Lauren and I had our one day off yesterday (Saturday) and we crammed it full of popular Mitchell activities. We woke up early-ish and went to the Spa. It's called a Spa, but it isn't a spa as we would think of in the US. It is essentially a natural hot-spring pool. The water was right around 100 degrees and it felt so good. There was another pool right next to the hot one that was kept at 70 degrees. Needless to say, I only went in there for the amount of time it took me to jump in and climb out as fast as possible. We felt a little out of place as we slipped into the massive hot tub with twenty other people from Mitchell... who probably all said to themselves: "Who are these people?" Regardless, we hung out for about an hour and a half before going back to the nursing quarters to get ready for the "Pink Bowls!" Now Bowls, or Lawn Bowling, is a popular sport here in Australia and is very similar to Bocce Ball. You stand on a rectangular court with 4 people per team, two bowls (NOT balls - even though they are spherical) per person, and a small white ball called a "Jack" which you are trying to come close to with your balls. Now, this particular game was called "Pink-Bowls" because it was raising money for Breast Cancer Research. Lauren and I were put on a team with two unfortunate, but very friendly and helpful bowls-veterans. I say unfortunate because, had they not had us on their team, the score may not have been 25-2 at the end. I would like to point out that Lauren and I each scored one of those two points that our team had. No big deal. The main difference between Bowls and Bocce is that there are 16 bowls all in all, and that they are unequally weighted: one size is heavier than the other, so the ball turns while rolling. Clearly this would be the case... make it harder than it already is. There was a raffle at the end of the day and one of my two tickets was picked to win a... Barbecue Kit. Complete with spatula, tongs, a machete-like knife, skewers and corn-on-the-cob handles. Now, what was I going to do with a BBQ Set?! I ended up giving it to one of the younger nurses who works at the hospital who said she needed one. In the end, we had a very fun day learning bowls, having a few beers, and meeting some great Mitchell people.
After the Bowls we went to an opening for the new historical society museum in town. There they had a traditional outback dinner where large holes are dug into the ground where heaps of hot coals are poured in, the food put in, then covered and cooked underground. Everything was delicious! There were two types of soups as the first course: Pumpkin and Pea and Ham. After that it was the main course which was a beef stew and also a curried sausage dish. These were sided with a traditional bread called Damper, which tasted much like shortcake. Desert was apple pie with custard and cream poured over it... SO RICH! It was a delicious meal and it was also very nice company. Afterward, Lauren and I were so tired that we walked back to the nurses quarters and called it an early night.
I have the morning off, but will be working a late shift tonight (2:30-11pm). Doing shift work has been interesting, and it's getting me excited for actually having a job at this time next year!
So Mitchell is great... and I'll be sad to leave on Friday. But I do plan to go to Byron Bay for a few days this weekend, or maybe next weekend. We'll see.
Hope all is well at home!
Miss you all!
When I first found out that I would be going to Mitchell, and even more so after I saw the population on Wikipedia (1,000), I was a little apprehensive about spending two weeks in a town half the size of Bethel. That was, of course, before I met all of the wonderful people from Mitchell. Today marks the week mark of our arrival here.
The nursing quarters that we are staying in are really nice. We have a nice kitchen, nice bathrooms, heaters in our rooms, and a big TV in the living room. The best part may be that it is a 30sec walk to the hospital. The hospital is a small community hospital, but it is rarely quiet. We have four permanent residents which keep us on our toes, as well as various other outpatients that come to the hospital presenting with loads of different problems. Clearly I cannot divulge any of these problems, but I have been getting a proper nursing training. Which I was skeptical of before arriving. The nurses and other staff at the hospital have been so accommodating and incredibly nice since we have arrived. I feel like I've been here for such a long time. It's funny to get back into that small town feel and remember that everyone IS related and everyone DOES know everyone's business.
Mitchell itself is a quaint little town. Being the "Gateway to the Outback" it is very flat and looks a lot like grasslands. There is one main street with two grocery stores, a hardware store, two clothing stores, a butcher, a bakery, and a pharmacy. Most of the corners in town have hotels on them, with bars beneath. The side streets are mainly filled with homes, and a few restaurants or bottle shops. There is also one gas station. :)
Lauren and I had our one day off yesterday (Saturday) and we crammed it full of popular Mitchell activities. We woke up early-ish and went to the Spa. It's called a Spa, but it isn't a spa as we would think of in the US. It is essentially a natural hot-spring pool. The water was right around 100 degrees and it felt so good. There was another pool right next to the hot one that was kept at 70 degrees. Needless to say, I only went in there for the amount of time it took me to jump in and climb out as fast as possible. We felt a little out of place as we slipped into the massive hot tub with twenty other people from Mitchell... who probably all said to themselves: "Who are these people?" Regardless, we hung out for about an hour and a half before going back to the nursing quarters to get ready for the "Pink Bowls!" Now Bowls, or Lawn Bowling, is a popular sport here in Australia and is very similar to Bocce Ball. You stand on a rectangular court with 4 people per team, two bowls (NOT balls - even though they are spherical) per person, and a small white ball called a "Jack" which you are trying to come close to with your balls. Now, this particular game was called "Pink-Bowls" because it was raising money for Breast Cancer Research. Lauren and I were put on a team with two unfortunate, but very friendly and helpful bowls-veterans. I say unfortunate because, had they not had us on their team, the score may not have been 25-2 at the end. I would like to point out that Lauren and I each scored one of those two points that our team had. No big deal. The main difference between Bowls and Bocce is that there are 16 bowls all in all, and that they are unequally weighted: one size is heavier than the other, so the ball turns while rolling. Clearly this would be the case... make it harder than it already is. There was a raffle at the end of the day and one of my two tickets was picked to win a... Barbecue Kit. Complete with spatula, tongs, a machete-like knife, skewers and corn-on-the-cob handles. Now, what was I going to do with a BBQ Set?! I ended up giving it to one of the younger nurses who works at the hospital who said she needed one. In the end, we had a very fun day learning bowls, having a few beers, and meeting some great Mitchell people.
After the Bowls we went to an opening for the new historical society museum in town. There they had a traditional outback dinner where large holes are dug into the ground where heaps of hot coals are poured in, the food put in, then covered and cooked underground. Everything was delicious! There were two types of soups as the first course: Pumpkin and Pea and Ham. After that it was the main course which was a beef stew and also a curried sausage dish. These were sided with a traditional bread called Damper, which tasted much like shortcake. Desert was apple pie with custard and cream poured over it... SO RICH! It was a delicious meal and it was also very nice company. Afterward, Lauren and I were so tired that we walked back to the nurses quarters and called it an early night.
I have the morning off, but will be working a late shift tonight (2:30-11pm). Doing shift work has been interesting, and it's getting me excited for actually having a job at this time next year!
So Mitchell is great... and I'll be sad to leave on Friday. But I do plan to go to Byron Bay for a few days this weekend, or maybe next weekend. We'll see.
Hope all is well at home!
Miss you all!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef
For my Birthday dad gave me a trip up to Cairns (in northern Queensland) to go scuba diving for two days on the Great Barrier Reef! Thanks Dad! It was weird at first because this was the first time I had traveled within Australia by myself. Every other time I head off to some corner of the continent, it is with at least 1 other person. While I was apprehensive to be "alone" for the weekend, it proved to be something that I really needed.
On Friday morning, I bid adieu to the girls (who were still on their cleanse at the time... and not in the best moods:) ) and started off towards Cairns. Since I was traveling alone, I decided to spoil myself... I walked STRAIGHT past the Toowoomba Transit Terminal and RIGHT into the Greyhound. Never have I traveled in Australia in such luxury. There was leg room, cumfy seats, reading lamps, and shades you could pull over the windows. The cost isn't that much different, and I think that I have ridden my last ride on the ole' TT coaches. Part of me will miss the intense feeling of impending death as the van speeds down the range towards Brisbane. However, the other part of me likes much better to be comfortable.
Travel to Cairns was the usual: city bus, greyhound, train to the airport, flight to cairns, and shuttle to my hostel. My hostel was really nice. I was staying in a 12 bed dorm, but it didn't seem like it. There was a really nice pool in the courtyard, as well as a hot-tub. I put my stuff down, changed out of my warm Toowoomba clothes and into shorts and a t-shirt, and then walked around the town to see what was up. I walked all around the waterfront, through a few parks, and in and out of a few shops. by about 4 o'clock I was pretty hungry, so I made my way to an Italian restaurant and had my fill of pasta... as well as some vino. There was a movie theater right next door and I decided that since I didn't know anyone, and had only spoken to my waitress, that I would go to a movie. I saw a French film called Summer Hours. I didn't know it was french. Nor did I know that it was subtitled. Needless to say, I fell asleep in the middle - it was the wine. I think I may have been snoring, actually. I did wake up soon enough to catch the last half hour or so. Afterwards I headed back to my hostel, chatted with a few of my roommates (German and English - EVERYONE that's traveling in Australia is either German of English.) I called it an early night, as I was being picked up at 8am.\
The next morning the Cairns Dive Center van came swinging up to the YHA and I piled in with my gear so we could head to the dive shop. We filled out all the necessary health forms, signed our legal rights away, and were then taken to the dock. From here we got onto a smaller boat (probably 30 feet) which would take us to the Live-aboard boat which stays out on the reef for a month at a time before coming to Cairns to refill on fuel. The ocean was like GLASS... and I'm not exaggerating. I mean like a lake at 6am... it was FLAT. All the staff on the boat said that they had never seen it like that before. After two hours we made it to the Kangaroo Explorer (the live-aboard) and piled out things into our rooms before getting briefed on the boat. By this time I had chatted with a few people, and actually kind of made friends. A far improvement from the night before. After our briefing, we had lunch made by the chef onboard (delicious!) and then got ready for our first dive. Unfortunately I remembered, after I got on the boat, that I was only Scuba Diver certified and not Open Water certified. The difference is that open water can go anywhere with a buddy to a depth of 18meters and I can only go to 12meters with a certified instructor. Now, in the long run this wasn't so bad at all... I got to dive with a really cool guy named Tom who knew everything there was to see about the reef. So basically he would take me along and show me all of the coolest things. The downside to this was I had to pay $11 per dive... but such is live.
All in all we did 6 dives while I was on the boat, one of which was a dive at night with flashlights. Some of the highlights of what I saw are: white tipped sharks, clown fish, heaps of sea turtles on the night dive and I was able to swim with one on my last day dive for about 5 minutes, starfish, parrot fish, and some beautiful coral. I had forgotten how cool of a sensation is is to scuba... being weighless under water is so fun. Every once in a while I would just start doing flips or barrel rolls underwater. I'm incredibly glad that I did the night dive. If you asked me that morning if I would do it I probably would have said "HELL NO!" However, by the end of the day I told myself... I didn't come to the GBR to sit on a boat... I'm doing it. We did see a few sharks on that dive, but I just pointed my flashlight (or my 'torch' as it would be called here) somewhere else so I didn't have to see them. :)
That night we were so exhausted that we were all in bed by 11. Which is good, because the staff came around at 5:30am to wake us up for our 6am dive. The sun wasn't even up yet when they were knocking on our doors. It proved to make it's way just over the horizon right as I was diving into the water. It's hard to not want to get up with you are watching the sunrise over the Pacific while floating over the Great Barrier Reef. I rented an underwater camera and managed to get a few good photos. I'll upload those sometime soon. After our last dive we had a few hours before the little boat, the Sun-Kist, brought us back to Cairns. We all sat and sun bathed on the top deck of the Kangaroo Explorer and chatted. There were people from England and Germany (obviously), a few guys from America (also studying in Aus), a guy from Korea, a few Canadians, and a few people from Japan. It was fun to just enjoy the sun, look at the reef, and talk with people from all over the world.
As all good things do... it came to and end. We were back on the sunkist, with slightly more turbulent waters, and heading back towards Cairns. We docked just around 5pm and headed towards our hostels. That night, the two American guys, two of my English roommates, and myself went to a cheap restaurant with great food for dinner. Two people from the boat met us there and joined in on our fun and conversation. After a while they were turning the restaurant to "bar-mode" and the table we were at was being taken away. We spotted a huge table with 2 guys sitting at it, and threw ourselves into it. Whether they liked it or not. The group of people we had was so eclectic and random, but it was so fun at the same time. We talked, drank, and danced the night away, and I had a blast!
The next day I had a few hours before my plane left so I sat by the pool at my hostel and tried to get a tan. Heading back to Toowoomba, was not high on my list of things I wanted to do that day... but I had no choice. After meeting people, Cairns seemed to be a lot more exciting, and I didn't want to leave.
This week went well, school wise. I had a nursing lab test-out and also a presentation for my mental health class. Both of which went incredibly well. I'm now done with class and only have two days before Lauren and I take the Greyhound to Mitchell. We spoke with the two people that have been there for the last two weeks and they really like it. They said the accomodation at the hospital is really nice (free wireless! look for photos!) and that the nurses are too. They also said that the hot-springs there are amazing! So Lauren and I are actually kind of excited.
Sorry for such a long post... but Cairns was just that exciting! I'll probably post again once we're in Mitchell.
Hope all is well at home!
Miss you all!
On Friday morning, I bid adieu to the girls (who were still on their cleanse at the time... and not in the best moods:) ) and started off towards Cairns. Since I was traveling alone, I decided to spoil myself... I walked STRAIGHT past the Toowoomba Transit Terminal and RIGHT into the Greyhound. Never have I traveled in Australia in such luxury. There was leg room, cumfy seats, reading lamps, and shades you could pull over the windows. The cost isn't that much different, and I think that I have ridden my last ride on the ole' TT coaches. Part of me will miss the intense feeling of impending death as the van speeds down the range towards Brisbane. However, the other part of me likes much better to be comfortable.
Travel to Cairns was the usual: city bus, greyhound, train to the airport, flight to cairns, and shuttle to my hostel. My hostel was really nice. I was staying in a 12 bed dorm, but it didn't seem like it. There was a really nice pool in the courtyard, as well as a hot-tub. I put my stuff down, changed out of my warm Toowoomba clothes and into shorts and a t-shirt, and then walked around the town to see what was up. I walked all around the waterfront, through a few parks, and in and out of a few shops. by about 4 o'clock I was pretty hungry, so I made my way to an Italian restaurant and had my fill of pasta... as well as some vino. There was a movie theater right next door and I decided that since I didn't know anyone, and had only spoken to my waitress, that I would go to a movie. I saw a French film called Summer Hours. I didn't know it was french. Nor did I know that it was subtitled. Needless to say, I fell asleep in the middle - it was the wine. I think I may have been snoring, actually. I did wake up soon enough to catch the last half hour or so. Afterwards I headed back to my hostel, chatted with a few of my roommates (German and English - EVERYONE that's traveling in Australia is either German of English.) I called it an early night, as I was being picked up at 8am.\
The next morning the Cairns Dive Center van came swinging up to the YHA and I piled in with my gear so we could head to the dive shop. We filled out all the necessary health forms, signed our legal rights away, and were then taken to the dock. From here we got onto a smaller boat (probably 30 feet) which would take us to the Live-aboard boat which stays out on the reef for a month at a time before coming to Cairns to refill on fuel. The ocean was like GLASS... and I'm not exaggerating. I mean like a lake at 6am... it was FLAT. All the staff on the boat said that they had never seen it like that before. After two hours we made it to the Kangaroo Explorer (the live-aboard) and piled out things into our rooms before getting briefed on the boat. By this time I had chatted with a few people, and actually kind of made friends. A far improvement from the night before. After our briefing, we had lunch made by the chef onboard (delicious!) and then got ready for our first dive. Unfortunately I remembered, after I got on the boat, that I was only Scuba Diver certified and not Open Water certified. The difference is that open water can go anywhere with a buddy to a depth of 18meters and I can only go to 12meters with a certified instructor. Now, in the long run this wasn't so bad at all... I got to dive with a really cool guy named Tom who knew everything there was to see about the reef. So basically he would take me along and show me all of the coolest things. The downside to this was I had to pay $11 per dive... but such is live.
All in all we did 6 dives while I was on the boat, one of which was a dive at night with flashlights. Some of the highlights of what I saw are: white tipped sharks, clown fish, heaps of sea turtles on the night dive and I was able to swim with one on my last day dive for about 5 minutes, starfish, parrot fish, and some beautiful coral. I had forgotten how cool of a sensation is is to scuba... being weighless under water is so fun. Every once in a while I would just start doing flips or barrel rolls underwater. I'm incredibly glad that I did the night dive. If you asked me that morning if I would do it I probably would have said "HELL NO!" However, by the end of the day I told myself... I didn't come to the GBR to sit on a boat... I'm doing it. We did see a few sharks on that dive, but I just pointed my flashlight (or my 'torch' as it would be called here) somewhere else so I didn't have to see them. :)
That night we were so exhausted that we were all in bed by 11. Which is good, because the staff came around at 5:30am to wake us up for our 6am dive. The sun wasn't even up yet when they were knocking on our doors. It proved to make it's way just over the horizon right as I was diving into the water. It's hard to not want to get up with you are watching the sunrise over the Pacific while floating over the Great Barrier Reef. I rented an underwater camera and managed to get a few good photos. I'll upload those sometime soon. After our last dive we had a few hours before the little boat, the Sun-Kist, brought us back to Cairns. We all sat and sun bathed on the top deck of the Kangaroo Explorer and chatted. There were people from England and Germany (obviously), a few guys from America (also studying in Aus), a guy from Korea, a few Canadians, and a few people from Japan. It was fun to just enjoy the sun, look at the reef, and talk with people from all over the world.
As all good things do... it came to and end. We were back on the sunkist, with slightly more turbulent waters, and heading back towards Cairns. We docked just around 5pm and headed towards our hostels. That night, the two American guys, two of my English roommates, and myself went to a cheap restaurant with great food for dinner. Two people from the boat met us there and joined in on our fun and conversation. After a while they were turning the restaurant to "bar-mode" and the table we were at was being taken away. We spotted a huge table with 2 guys sitting at it, and threw ourselves into it. Whether they liked it or not. The group of people we had was so eclectic and random, but it was so fun at the same time. We talked, drank, and danced the night away, and I had a blast!
The next day I had a few hours before my plane left so I sat by the pool at my hostel and tried to get a tan. Heading back to Toowoomba, was not high on my list of things I wanted to do that day... but I had no choice. After meeting people, Cairns seemed to be a lot more exciting, and I didn't want to leave.
This week went well, school wise. I had a nursing lab test-out and also a presentation for my mental health class. Both of which went incredibly well. I'm now done with class and only have two days before Lauren and I take the Greyhound to Mitchell. We spoke with the two people that have been there for the last two weeks and they really like it. They said the accomodation at the hospital is really nice (free wireless! look for photos!) and that the nurses are too. They also said that the hot-springs there are amazing! So Lauren and I are actually kind of excited.
Sorry for such a long post... but Cairns was just that exciting! I'll probably post again once we're in Mitchell.
Hope all is well at home!
Miss you all!
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