This has been my motto since arriving in Australia. Back home, I'm always the one taking care of other people. Making sure everyone has a ride home, always carrying around medicine just in case someone needs it, being a momma bear. I'm also fantastic at being a homebody; but, this trip I made a conscious decision to be different. I don't think I will ever have this opportunity ever again and I want to do everything imaginable.
The last two days are probably the most amazing and adventurous days of my life. I spent yesterday outside of Cairns in a Rainforest! I took an Army Duck tour, which is a car that can run on water, through the rainforest. It was phenomenal. The plants were exotic and beautiful, although some I would avoid with my life. The birds sang like nothing you'd hear in the states and the butterflies are neon blue. If seeing a rainforest wasn't enough for one day, I literally snuggled with a kangaroo. I laid down next to one in the grass and she laid her head on my arm. It was pure perfection.
We met a few aborigines who performed a bunch of dances for us and I even got up on stage and danced with them! Yes, there is a video. No, it hasn't been posted anywhere..yet. After, they taught us to play the didgeridoo. Since I was a band nerd in middle school and played bassoon, I actually did quite well! It's actually a really interesting and difficult instrument. (Funny story though..another intern had a bug crawl out of the mouthpiece while she was trying to play it.)
Speaking of gross bugs.. I ate an ant. Yes. You read that correctly. Me, princess LE, ate an ant. It was gross and tasted like an excessively sour warhead. Excuse the terrible picture, but really, who has a good picture of them eating an ant?
And if the ants don't gross you out enough, I spent some quality time with Rosy the amethyst python.
Today was equally as amazing. I spent the entire day on the Great Barrier Reef. From 7 am to 5 pm, we were on a boat in the middle of the pacific. It was the most beautiful and terrifying experience of my life. I am completely petrified of water. PETRIFIED. But I signed up and followed through on scuba diving. After a crash course lesson on diving, we were thrown into the water with 100 pounds of gear, in the middle of 5 foot swells. I almost quit the second I hit the water. I felt like I was drowning, which seems stupid considering I had an oxygen tank strapped to me. But when you have huge waves swallowing you in the ocean, it's not a comforting feeling. Despite my gut feeling to climb back into the boat, the instructor pushed me down into the water and once the panicked breathing subsided, I was able to calm down and at notice the beauty enveloping me. The ocean sucked me under and I'm so glad I stuck with it. The Great Barrier Reef was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It was perfection. The water was crystal clear and the sea life was unreal.
Thanks to my amazing underwater camera (shout out to my amazing mother for the purchase!), I have pictures to prove it.
I cannot even explain to you how incredible this opportunity has already been. I'm so blessed to be in Australia doing so many amazing things. I cannot wait to see what else there is in store for me. When in Australia: my motto for the next 9 weeks.
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