First post from Australia! We literally touched down in Cairns about an hour ago and after collecting our many bags and checking into our hostel, my abroad journey is finally beginning! We are staying at this really cute hostel called the Northern Greenhouse, located right in the middle of Cairns. I am staying in a room with four other girls from my program. We have our own kitchen set up, compete with fridge and sink, as well as our own bathroom. (super nice) And there's also a pool! :)
I have to admit, while it was very mentally and physically draining, I actually enjoyed my long 16 hour flight from Dallas to Brisbane. I managed to catch some zz's which shocked me since I usually don't sleep that great on a plane. I curled up and watched some episodes of the Big Bang Theory, created a couple of friendship bracelets (thanks for the great idea Katie R!) and watched a really cute movie called the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. (It's a great "feel-good" movie which i highly recommend. It also makes me want to move to India once I retire.) Slightly amusing story from the plane: as soon as we are all settled in, the captain gets on the intercom and announces that we need to wait for 15-20 minutes to allow the staff at the Brisbane airport to get to work and man the customs stations. We were going to be arriving so early (5:00am) that the airport wouldn't be up and running. (Made me tired just thinking about it).
My faith in airports is starting to be renewed since no one I was traveling with had their bags get lost and we made every single one of our connections on time. I was very impressed. On the flight from Brisbane to Cairns, I sat next to this really sweet older couple. Although we didn't talk a lot, the woman insisted on giving me the apples that were served with her breakfast since I had just missed them handing out food when I had gone to use the bathroom. I wasn't all that hungry but i was touched by her generosity so I took them. (She also proceeded to give me her muffin and her husband's apple.)
When we landed in Cairns airport we were met by Cheryl who organizes our home-stays. She gave us each a letter from the director and a map of the city. She put is in a taxi and sent us to our hostel with the instructions that we were going to meet around 1 with Tony, the director of the program. So we still at this point, have little knowledge of what we will be doing. But i figured that gives us enough time to grab a shower and maybe a swim, unpack a little, and maybe do a bit of exploring. Oh and of course, update the blog :)
I'll upload some pictures soon once I dig my camera out from the depths of my bags! Stay tuned!
Peace, love and sunshine.
Katie
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
The Journey of a Thousand Miles....
Hey everyone!
Officially the first blog post of my journey. This blog is a way for me to keep friends and family up to date on my daily activities and shenanigans. For those who don't know, I will be spending the following semester in Cairns, in Queensland Australia, participating in an ecology program that's formally called, SIT: Reefs, Rainforests and Cultural Ecology. (feel free to read more about it here: http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/overview_ase.cfm#.UD2LWGhYsdU. We'll be learning all about the different Australian ecosystems, plants and animals as well as both the modern and indigenous effects on the environment.
For the most part we will be staying in Cairns, (mostly in one hostel but also doing a two week home-stay) but we will be taking some small "excursions" which include a week-long camping trip with some aboriginal elders, a 10 day stay at a nearby research station on Lizard Island (lots of snorkeling and beach time. I've heard we get to just show up to class in bathing suits and bare feet - My kind of place. We'll also be learning about coral reef conservation), and also a 10 day camping trip in the Australian rainforest. Needless to say, it's gonna be an interesting semester. :)
Well my bags are finally all packed, (astonishingly) most goodbyes said; got my music (complete with a few Harry Potter books on tape - courtesy of the wonderful miss Kendall H. Tucker!), a good travel novel, plus about 10+ hours of solid movie watching, ha ha. (Get to catch up on all the summer premieres I've been missing.) Can't wait to meet all the awesome people in my program and finally touch down in the land down under!
I'm bringing my computer along and I've been told we'll have internet access in most places we go so email is definitely an option when it comes to contacting me. I'm also planning on purchasing a prepaid phone while I'm there. (not sure about calling charges from US ---> Australia, but it's not very expensive on my end so that's another mode of communication.) And then there's always good 'ol facebook and skype. :) If you wanna skype, shoot me an email (ksurreyb@conncoll.edu) and I'll try to figure out the time difference and make it work. Please do stay in touch! I'll miss you all tons and I hope, for those of my friends in college, that you all have great fall semesters!
Next post will be written from Australia! :)
Peace, love and bubbles.
Katie
Officially the first blog post of my journey. This blog is a way for me to keep friends and family up to date on my daily activities and shenanigans. For those who don't know, I will be spending the following semester in Cairns, in Queensland Australia, participating in an ecology program that's formally called, SIT: Reefs, Rainforests and Cultural Ecology. (feel free to read more about it here: http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/overview_ase.cfm#.UD2LWGhYsdU. We'll be learning all about the different Australian ecosystems, plants and animals as well as both the modern and indigenous effects on the environment.
 |
| Just so you know where I'll be writing from |
For the most part we will be staying in Cairns, (mostly in one hostel but also doing a two week home-stay) but we will be taking some small "excursions" which include a week-long camping trip with some aboriginal elders, a 10 day stay at a nearby research station on Lizard Island (lots of snorkeling and beach time. I've heard we get to just show up to class in bathing suits and bare feet - My kind of place. We'll also be learning about coral reef conservation), and also a 10 day camping trip in the Australian rainforest. Needless to say, it's gonna be an interesting semester. :)
Well my bags are finally all packed, (astonishingly) most goodbyes said; got my music (complete with a few Harry Potter books on tape - courtesy of the wonderful miss Kendall H. Tucker!), a good travel novel, plus about 10+ hours of solid movie watching, ha ha. (Get to catch up on all the summer premieres I've been missing.) Can't wait to meet all the awesome people in my program and finally touch down in the land down under!
I'm bringing my computer along and I've been told we'll have internet access in most places we go so email is definitely an option when it comes to contacting me. I'm also planning on purchasing a prepaid phone while I'm there. (not sure about calling charges from US ---> Australia, but it's not very expensive on my end so that's another mode of communication.) And then there's always good 'ol facebook and skype. :) If you wanna skype, shoot me an email (ksurreyb@conncoll.edu) and I'll try to figure out the time difference and make it work. Please do stay in touch! I'll miss you all tons and I hope, for those of my friends in college, that you all have great fall semesters!
Next post will be written from Australia! :)
Peace, love and bubbles.
Katie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)