Our program introduction began in Cairns, Australia- Australearn. We stayed at a resort hostel called Gilligan’s Backpackers in downtown Cairns. The introduction included sessions to help us adapt to Australian culture. We also got to scuba/snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef and go to a rainforest preservation where we held koalas, pet kangaroos, and learned about the Australian Aboriginal culture. The Great Barrier Reef was amazing! It was so pretty and so surreal. Our group took a boat out that took about 2 hours to get to the reef. When we got there we could snorkel and learn to scuba for a “nominal” fee. Unfortunately, I was unable to dive, but I followed the group with my snorkle equipment- yeah for years of swimming and learning to hold my breath. Later, lunch was provided and then we went to the next dive sight. I just snorkeled there because money doesn’t grow on trees! I didn’t matter though because since I didn’t have scuba gear strapped to my back, I kept diving down and holding my breath to get a better look at things. The colors we so amazing, that I forgot I was holding my breath, and when I finally realized it, I was about 15 feet under! Oops. So a couple of
girls and myself went out into town to explore and find a place to have dinner. We stumbled upon this night market that was really interesting. In the front there was kind of like a food court and in the back, there were rows of little shops that sells various things (kind of like the markets in China or the Bahamas.) There was also an area where you could get Chinese massages for really cheap. I was with 2 other girls and after we bargained with them, we all got a 40 minute massage for apx. $13 that included a foot massage, back, shoulders, and head. It was amazing, but at one point it started to hurt. I tried to ignore it, but finally I couldn’t take it anymore. I lifted my head out of the little hole on the table to try to tell him that it hurt~ well, apparently that was lost in translation, because he said something that sounded like, “Hie, Hie!!!”, and shoved my head back into the little hole in the massage table. It is fun experiencing all of the language barriers and cultural differences. Yesterday we went to this place called Rainforestation.
It was muggy and rainy, but so gorgeous. W were taught how to throw a boomerang. Then he showed us how to play this ceremonial instrument called a didgeridoo, where you have to breath in through your mouth and blow out through your nose to play it. After that we got to take pictures of kangaroos and feed them. I think they were drugged or something, because they kept drifting off and were totally out of it. I got a picture with a koala too!! They are soo cute, but not very cuddly.
girls and myself went out into town to explore and find a place to have dinner. We stumbled upon this night market that was really interesting. In the front there was kind of like a food court and in the back, there were rows of little shops that sells various things (kind of like the markets in China or the Bahamas.) There was also an area where you could get Chinese massages for really cheap. I was with 2 other girls and after we bargained with them, we all got a 40 minute massage for apx. $13 that included a foot massage, back, shoulders, and head. It was amazing, but at one point it started to hurt. I tried to ignore it, but finally I couldn’t take it anymore. I lifted my head out of the little hole on the table to try to tell him that it hurt~ well, apparently that was lost in translation, because he said something that sounded like, “Hie, Hie!!!”, and shoved my head back into the little hole in the massage table. It is fun experiencing all of the language barriers and cultural differences. Yesterday we went to this place called Rainforestation.
It was muggy and rainy, but so gorgeous. W were taught how to throw a boomerang. Then he showed us how to play this ceremonial instrument called a didgeridoo, where you have to breath in through your mouth and blow out through your nose to play it. After that we got to take pictures of kangaroos and feed them. I think they were drugged or something, because they kept drifting off and were totally out of it. I got a picture with a koala too!! They are soo cute, but not very cuddly.
No comments:
Post a Comment