When In Oz..

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. 

It was the most perfect day full of adventure and new experiences.

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. 

Airplanes Are Torture Chambers We Only Use Because No One has Invented Teleportation

I hate airplanes.

And airports. And basically anything to do with the two. The first flight I was on was 17 hours long, I stopped in Brisbane long enough to run to the next terminal to get on a plane for another 3 hours. Inside of Brisbane, they stopped checking bags at the international terminal for my flight, so I had to get all of my bags on a bus and check them in domestic. (Which was a lotttt of bags!) When I got all my bags on the bus, my giraffe suitcase zipper busted and my clothes started pouring out! Thankfully, it has two zippers and only one broke. But in fixing my suitcase, my nail broke off..Sad day. So then I ran to my next flight and barely made it. It was nuts. I didn't even have time to process that I was in Australia until I boarded the plane to Cairns.

My crazy airport experience aside, the airplane ride was pretty smooth, minus a few bumps here and there.(Shout of to Collin Nace, because his flight lessons on turbulence kept me from freaking out every time we bumped around.) Overall; I slept and read a book given to me before I left. I was very fortunate to sit next to a guy who was coming back from "holiday" in the states, but was from Australia. He had so much to tell me and ask me about our two countries. We told stories until neither of us could keep our eyes open. We joked about each others accents and had to ask what the heck we were saying a few times, but it was incredibly helpful. I learned a few Australian words from him and some survival tips that will help me with my students, like the Australian Football League Finals is coming up in Melbourne. I had a crash course lesson in the rules..which is different from the four other footballs they have here.

Y'all, Australia is beautiful. I have literally been rained on almost the whole time I've been here, and it's still gorgeous. Today and tomorrow I get to participate in these incredible once in a lifetime experiences (I won't ruin the surprise) that I'm beyond excited about. The other interns are such beautiful people and we all just want more out of our lives. The people of Australia have been very welcoming and patient with our American confusion. I cannot wait to see and do more, especially when I'm not jetlagged. I'm fighting my homebodiness as hard as I can and trying to do everything they offer me. I'm determined to live outside of my Southern Comfort Zone.

All Aboard

I'm sitting in the international airport terminal waiting for my flight to Australia and it hit me. 

I made it. 

Obviously not literally, since I still have 23 hours until I arrive in Cairns, but I made it. I am leaving the country and studying abroad. All. By. Myself. 

With all the down time before my flight, I was reading a letter from a dear friend of mine that told me to live selfishly while in Australia. That sentence seems rather strange, but she followed it with telling me to get everything out of the experience I can and to grow for me. Not for her, not for my family, not for anyone else. That's when it hit me. This trip is mine. Now that is a freeing but fearful thought. I am petrified of what is going to happen in Australia, but I know that when I return home to the beautiful state of Texas, I will not be the same. I don't want to be the same. This is the trip of my life and the airline is calling my name. Once I get on the plane, life as I know it will change. 

Next stop Brisbane. 

Final destination? Growth. Acceptance. Freedom. 

Melbourne.

Never, EVER Add Up Your Expenses

$9,861

The calculator hates me.. Or maybe my bank account. Either way, both are looking pretty sad right now. Lesson #129381 I've learned about getting ready to study abroad, don't add up all of your costs after you've paid them. It's done and paid for, so why did I feel the need to do the math? Because I'm an idiot and wanted to stress myself out apparently. So take my advice folks. When studying abroad, pay for it and move on, because when you see this view, it will all be worth it.

The Final Week

Well folks, it's down to eight days. I've been pretty calm up until now, but last night I had a minor panic attack. All the things I use are American products. My shampoo. My toothpaste. My underwear. My tampons (sorry guys!). What if they don't have what I want in Melbourne? Well this idea sparked a pretty ridiculous shopping spree.. I have enough tampons for 6 months. I kid you not (sorry again guys!). I went crazy at Victoria's Secret buying underwear, because there isn't one Down Under (no pun intended). This whole thing is rather irrational, but heyy, I've never left the country y'all!

The good news is, my passport is HERE! And I turned in my pre departure paper. All I have left is a huge to do list and to get on the airplane. 

8 days!

A Place to Call Home

There's times in everyone's lives when they are in limbo. Just waiting for things to happen. Desperately wanting answers. I've been there, anxiously waiting. I've lived my last few months in this state, wondering where I'm going. Wondering what I'll be doing. Wondering where I'll be living. So many questions and all it took was one word to shatter the silence.  

Melbourne. 

I'm going to Melbourne.

For ten beautiful and amazing weeks I will call the city of Melbourne home. I will live there, work there, shop there, and possibly never sleep there. There just might not be any time for it. My head is spinning with all of the possibilities. Everything I research seems perfect and wonderful. I'm counting the days and hours until I step off the airplane. I want to see everything from the tourists traps to the local bakery. I want to soak in their education system and the lives of all of my students. Everything is real now. I have a location. I have a school. I have an internship.

46 days and 19 hours

Correspondence Application

Gabe Schirm, Welcome to my Blog! 

As you can see, I already have a blog for my study abroad adventure! I created this blog in the hopes that my family and friends could follow along with what I am doing in Australia, but also as a guide to others as they go through the steps of studying abroad. I would be a great GlobaLinks Correspondent because I am already ahead of the game. I've already started a blog to do exactly what this scholarship would be asking of me. Not only would I be doing this for the $200 voucher, I'd be doing this blog because it is something I am passionate about. Since I am getting a degree in education, specifically Language Arts, I am in love with blogs. It is a way for anyone to get their written words out to the world. Personally, I have found that researching different blogs about expats who have moved to Australia and other students who have studied abroad has been very helpful as I have been getting ready to leave the country. I would love for my blog to reach more people and hopefully be that source of information and hope for others looking go abroad. I'm also a picture junkie! I take more pictures than anyone I know. With a combination of my love of language arts and picture taking, I think that my blog could be a huge hit. I would love to share my adventure and advice with others who are wanting to study abroad. It is a huge decision to leave your home country and live in a foreign land for 10 weeks. I'd love to be the guiding voice to help others be more confident and excited about their journey. Please feel free to click around my blog. There isn't much up right now since I have't gotten my assignment or left the country, but much more will be coming. You can count on it!